Electoral Systems and Democracy

Electoral Systems and Democracy PDF Author: Larry Diamond
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801884757
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book Here

Book Description
As the number of democracies has increased around the world, a heated debate has emerged among political scientists about which system best promotes the consolidation of democracy. This book compares the experiences of diverse countries, from Latin America to southern Africa, from Uruguay, Japan, and Taiwan to Israel, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Electoral Systems and Democracy

Electoral Systems and Democracy PDF Author: Larry Diamond
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801884757
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book Here

Book Description
As the number of democracies has increased around the world, a heated debate has emerged among political scientists about which system best promotes the consolidation of democracy. This book compares the experiences of diverse countries, from Latin America to southern Africa, from Uruguay, Japan, and Taiwan to Israel, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Electoral Democracy

Electoral Democracy PDF Author: Michael MacKuen
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472068203
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Get Book Here

Book Description
Top scholars in the field survey the study of elections and democracy

Rethinking American Electoral Democracy

Rethinking American Electoral Democracy PDF Author: Matthew J. Streb
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317519817
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Get Book Here

Book Description
While frustration with various aspects of American democracy abound in the United States, there is little agreement over—or even understanding of—what kinds of changes would make the system more effective and increase political participation. Matthew J. Streb sheds much-needed light on all the major concerns of the electoral process in the thoroughly revised third edition of this timely book on improving American electoral democracy. This critical examination of the rules and institutional arrangements that shape the American electoral process analyzes the major debates that embroil scholars and reformers on subjects ranging from the number of elections we hold and the use of nonpartisan elections, to the presidential nominating process and campaign finance laws. Ultimately, Streb argues for a less burdensome democracy, a democracy in which citizens can participate more easily in transparent, competitive elections. This book is designed to get students of elections and American political institutions to think critically about what it means to be democratic, and how democratic the United States really is. Part of the Controversies in Electoral Democracy and Representation series, edited by Matthew J. Streb.

Anti-Pluralism

Anti-Pluralism PDF Author: William A. Galston
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300235313
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 173

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Great Recession, institutional dysfunction, a growing divide between urban and rural prospects, and failed efforts to effectively address immigration have paved the way for a populist backlash that disrupts the postwar bargain between political elites and citizens. Whether today’s populism represents a corrective to unfair and obsolete policies or a threat to liberal democracy itself remains up for debate. Yet this much is clear: these challenges indict the triumphalism that accompanied liberal democratic consolidation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. To respond to today’s crisis, good leaders must strive for inclusive economic growth while addressing fraught social and cultural issues, including demographic anxiety, with frank attention. Although reforms may stem the populist tide, liberal democratic life will always leave some citizens unsatisfied. This is a permanent source of vulnerability, but liberal democracy will endure so long as citizens believe it is worth fighting for.

Against Elections

Against Elections PDF Author: David Van Reybrouck
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
ISBN: 1609808118
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Get Book Here

Book Description
A small book with great weight and urgency to it, this is both a history of democracy and a clarion call for change. "Without drastic adjustment, this system cannot last much longer," writes Van Reybrouck, regarded today as one of Europe's most astute thinkers. "If you look at the decline in voter turnout and party membership, and at the way politicians are held in contempt, if you look at how difficult it is to form governments, how little they can do and how harshly they are punished for it, if you look at how quickly populism, technocracy and anti-parliamentarianism are rising, if you look at how more and more citizens are longing for participation and how quickly that desire can tip over into frustration, then you realize we are up to our necks." Not so very long ago, the great battles of democracy were fought for the right to vote. Now, Van Reybrouck writes, "it's all about the right to speak, but in essence it's the same battle, the battle for political emancipation and for democratic participation. We must decolonize democracy. We must democratize democracy." As history, Van Reybrouck makes the compelling argument that modern democracy was designed as much to preserve the rights of the powerful and keep the masses in line, as to give the populace a voice. As change-agent, Against Elections makes the argument that there are forms of government, what he terms sortitive or deliberative democracy, that are beginning to be practiced around the world, and can be the remedy we seek. In Iceland, for example, deliberative democracy was used to write the new constitution. A group of people were chosen by lot, educated in the subject at hand, and then were able to decide what was best, arguably, far better than politicians would have. A fascinating, and workable idea has led to a timely book to remind us that our system of government is a flexible instrument, one that the people have the power to change.

Securing Democracy

Securing Democracy PDF Author: Gary L. Gregg
Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

Book Description
A collection of essays by leading politicians, journalists, and academics that show how the Electoral College is embedded in the fabric of our constitutional system and cannot easily be changed without disturbing the whole framework.

Democracy, Accountability, and Representation

Democracy, Accountability, and Representation PDF Author: Adam Przeworski
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521646161
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Get Book Here

Book Description
6 Party Government and Responsiveness: James A. Stimson

Defining Democracy

Defining Democracy PDF Author: Daniel O. Prosterman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195377737
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Get Book Here

Book Description
Defining Democracy reveals the history of a little-known experiment in urban democracy begun in New York City during the Great Depression and abolished amid the early Cold War. For a decade, New Yorkers utilized a new voting system that produced the most diverse legislatures in the city's history and challenged the American two-party structure. Daniel O. Prosterman examines struggles over electoral reform in New York City to clarify our understanding of democracy's evolution in the United States and the world.

In Defense of Judicial Elections

In Defense of Judicial Elections PDF Author: Chris W. Bonneau
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135852685
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Get Book Here

Book Description
One of the most contentious issues in politics today is the propriety of electing judges. Ought judges be independent of democratic processes in obtaining and retaining their seats, or should they be subject to the approval of the electorate and the processes that accompany popular control? While this debate is interesting and often quite heated, it usually occurs without reference to empirical facts--or at least accurate ones. Also, empirical scholars to date have refused to take a position on the normative issues surrounding the practice. Bonneau and Hall offer a fresh new approach. Using almost two decades of data on state supreme court elections, Bonneau and Hall argue that opponents of judicial elections have made—and continue to make—erroneous empirical claims. They show that judicial elections are efficacious mechanisms that enhance the quality of democracy and create an inextricable link between citizens and the judiciary. In so doing, they pioneer the use of empirical data to shed light on these normative questions and offer a coherent defense of judicial elections. This provocative book is essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of judicial selection, law and politics, or the electoral process. Part of the Controversies in Electoral Democracy and Representation series edited by Matthew J. Streb.

Elections and Democracy

Elections and Democracy PDF Author: J. J. A. Thomassen
Publisher: Oxford University Press (UK)
ISBN: 0198716338
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Get Book Here

Book Description
'Elections and Democracy' is based on data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, spanning 36 countries. It considers the majoritarian and consensus models of democracy and how their embodiment in institutional structures influence vote choice, political participation and satisfaction within a functioning democracy.