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Most research on parliamentary opposition focuses on constitutional and institutional aspects. This article argues that these approaches are limited in explaining differences between opposition parties. A case study of the Bavarian State Parliament supports the assumption that complex patterns of a number of factors, such as individual party groups' ideology and history, their members' socio-demographic background, and their informal rules of engagement, influence the way opposition parties behave. The study shows distinctive differences between the appearance and the strategies employed to influence the majority's decision-making. The Social Democrats, a traditional mass party with over 40 years in opposition, focused on a strategy of professional, subject-oriented cooperation within parliament. The Greens chose confrontational power policies that had their main effect outside parliament. This stands in line with the party's origin in grassroots movements and its culture of conflict resolution. The particular way of how party identities and policies coincide with the preference of one opposition strategy over another indicates that historic and socio-cultural factors are highly relevant for parliamentary behaviour.
