Between Renewal and Stability: Party System Change from a Multi‐Level Perspective in Brazil (1998–2018)

Abstract

The growth of the far right and election results in Brazil are often associated with national or large‐scale events. The multi‐level features of these developments, namely party competition at the sub‐national level, are overlooked in the literature. This article argues that changes in the Brazilian national party system – those observed from Bolsonaro's election, mainly – are rooted in sub‐national political dynamics. Through a comparative and longitudinal analysis of multi‐level executive and legislative elections, we find that, although there are distinct patterns of competition between the national‐sub‐national and within‐country levels, this difference is not evident in volatility.