Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America PDF Author: Cynthia McClintock
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190879785
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
During Latin America's third democratic wave, a majority of countries adopted a runoff rule for the election of the president, effectively dampening plurality voting, opening the political arena to new parties, and assuring the public that the president will never have anything less than majority support. In a region in which undemocratic political parties were common and have often been dominated by caudillos, cautious naysayers have voiced concerns about the runoff process, arguing that a proliferation of new political parties vying for power is a sign of inferior democracy. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality rules throughout Latin America, and demonstrates that, in contrast to early scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for democracy in the region. Primarily through qualitative analysis for each country, the author argues that, indeed, an important advantage of runoff is the greater openness of the political arena to new parties--at the same time that measures can be taken to inhibit party proliferation. In this context, it is also the first volume to address whether or not a runoff rule with a reduced threshold (for example, 40% with a 10-point lead) is a felicitous compromise between majority runoff and plurality. The book considers the potential for the superiority of runoff to travel beyond Latin America--in particular, and rather provocatively, to the United States.

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America PDF Author: Cynthia McClintock
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190879785
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
During Latin America's third democratic wave, a majority of countries adopted a runoff rule for the election of the president, effectively dampening plurality voting, opening the political arena to new parties, and assuring the public that the president will never have anything less than majority support. In a region in which undemocratic political parties were common and have often been dominated by caudillos, cautious naysayers have voiced concerns about the runoff process, arguing that a proliferation of new political parties vying for power is a sign of inferior democracy. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality rules throughout Latin America, and demonstrates that, in contrast to early scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for democracy in the region. Primarily through qualitative analysis for each country, the author argues that, indeed, an important advantage of runoff is the greater openness of the political arena to new parties--at the same time that measures can be taken to inhibit party proliferation. In this context, it is also the first volume to address whether or not a runoff rule with a reduced threshold (for example, 40% with a 10-point lead) is a felicitous compromise between majority runoff and plurality. The book considers the potential for the superiority of runoff to travel beyond Latin America--in particular, and rather provocatively, to the United States.

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America PDF Author: Cynthia McClintock
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780190879792
Category : Democracy
Languages : en
Pages : 317

Get Book Here

Book Description
"During Latin America's third democratic wave, a majority of countries adopted a runoff rule for the election of the president, effectively dampening plurality voting, opening the political arena to new parties, and assuring the public that the president will never have anything less than majority support. In a region in which undemocratic political parties were common and have often been dominated by caudillos, cautious naysayers have voiced concerns about the runoff process, arguing that a proliferation of new political parties vying for power is a sign of inferior democracy. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality rules throughout Latin America, and demonstrates that, in contrast to early scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for democracy in the region. Primarily through qualitative analysis for each country, the author argues that, indeed, an important advantage of runoff is the greater openness of the political arena to new parties--at the same time that measures can be taken to inhibit party proliferation. In this context, it is also the first volume to address whether or not a runoff rule with a reduced threshold (for example, 40% with a 10-point lead) is a felicitous compromise between majority runoff and plurality. The book considers the potential for the superiority of runoff to travel beyond Latin America--in particular, and rather provocatively, to the United States"--

Elections in the Americas: A Data Handbook

Elections in the Americas: A Data Handbook PDF Author: Dieter Nohlen
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191515779
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 620

Get Book Here

Book Description
This two-volume work continues the series of election data handbooks published by OUP. It presents a first-ever compendium of electoral data for all 35 countries in the Americas since the introduction of universal male suffrage. Following the overall structure of the series, an initial comparative introduction on elections and electoral systems is followed by chapters on each country. Written by knowledgeable and renowned scholars, the contributions examine the evolution of constitutional and electoral arrangements and provide systematic surveys of the up-to-date electoral provisions and electoral rules. These widely differing rules exert considerable influence on party systems and political processes. Exhaustive statistics on all national elections and referendums are given in each chapter. Together with the other books of this series, Elections in the Americas is a highly reliable resource for historical and cross-national comparisons of elections and electoral systems worldwide.

The Latin American Voter

The Latin American Voter PDF Author: Ryan E Carlin
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 047205287X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 442

Get Book Here

Book Description
Public opinion and political behavior experts explore voter choice in Latin America with this follow-up to the 1960 landmark The American Voter

Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1

Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1 PDF Author: Dieter Nohlen
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191557935
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 768

Get Book Here

Book Description
This two-volume work continues the series of election data handbooks published by OUP. It presents a first-ever compendium of electoral data for all 35 countries in the Americas since the introduction of universal male suffrage. Following the overall structure of the series, an initial comparative introduction on elections and electoral systems is followed by chapters on each country. Written by knowledgeable and renowned scholars, the contributions examine the evolution of constitutional and electoral arrangements and provide systematic surveys of the up-to-date electoral provisions and electoral rules. These widely differing rules exert considerable influence on party systems and political processes. Exhaustive statistics on all national elections and referendums are given in each chapter. Together with the other books of this series, Elections in the Americas is a highly reliable resource for historical and cross-national comparisons of elections and electoral systems worldwide.

Christian Democracy in Latin America

Christian Democracy in Latin America PDF Author: Scott Mainwaring
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804745987
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 428

Get Book Here

Book Description
Christian Democracy swept across parts of Latin America, gaining influence in Venezuela in the 1940s, Chile in the 1950s, El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1960s, and Costa Rica and Mexico in the 1980s. This book offers an overview of Christian Democracy in the region— underscoring its remarkable diversity—and examines the Christian Democratic organizations of Chile and Mexico, which are still major parties today. The concluding section analyzes the demise of formerly significant Christian Democratic parties in El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, and Venezuela. Christian Democracy in Latin America provides the definitive stufy of the nature, rise, and decline of Christian Democracy in Latin America. The book enriches the broader theoretical literature on political parties by highlighting the distinctive strategic dilemmas parties face, and the distinctive objectives they pursue, in contexts of fragile democracy or of authoritarian regimes.

Elections and Democracy in Central America, Revisited

Elections and Democracy in Central America, Revisited PDF Author: Mitchell A. Seligson
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume represents a continuation and significant expansion of the study of the relationship of elections to democracy in Central America that the editors began with Elections and Democracy in Central America.

Party Vibrancy and Democracy in Latin America

Party Vibrancy and Democracy in Latin America PDF Author: Fernando Rosenblatt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190870052
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Get Book Here

Book Description
Even in Latin America's most socially and economically stable countries, new parties emerge constantly, old parties collapse, and party systems across the region are notoriously fragile. Still, there are also successful stories. There have been a number of parties in Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela that used to be able to operate well beyond electoral cycles and preserve a significant presence in their respective countries for decades. How do such political parties remain vibrant organizations over time? In Party Vibrancy and Democracy in Latin America, Fernando Rosenblatt sheds new light on how party vibrancy is maintained and reproduced over time in three of the region's more stable countries-Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay. Referencing these three "consolidated" democracies with records of good governance, Rosenblatt identifies the complex interaction between four causal factors that can explain party vibrancy: Purpose, Trauma, Channels of Ambition, and Moderate Exit Barriers. "Purpose" activates prospective loyalty among party members. "Trauma" refers to a shared traumatic past which engenders retrospective loyalty. "Channels of Ambition" are established routes by which individuals can pursue political careers. Finally, "Moderate Exit Barriers" are rules that set costs of defection at reasonable levels. When these factors work together throughout a party's "Golden Age," they can demonstrate a link between party organizations´ stability and the quality of democratic representation across Latin America. As Rosenblatt finds, when parties remain vibrant organizations, democracies are better able to withstand challenges long-term. A unique qualitative study, Party Vibrancy and Democracy in Latin America demonstrates how the vitality of political parties can directly and indirectly impact how effective they are as intermediaries for their citizens not just in Latin America, but around the world.

Democracies in Development

Democracies in Development PDF Author: J. Mark Payne
Publisher: IDB
ISBN: 1931003319
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 350

Get Book Here

Book Description
The accompanying CD-ROM features country-by-country election results for presidential and legislative elections."--BOOK JACKET.

Latin American Elections

Latin American Elections PDF Author: Richard Nadeau
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472122525
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Michigan model, named after the institution where it was first articulated, has been used to explain voting behavior in North American and Western European democracies. In Latin American Elections, experts on Latin America join with experts on electoral studies to evaluate the model’s applicability in this region. Analyzing data from the AmericasBarometer, a scientific public opinion survey carried out in 18 Latin American nations from 2008 to 2012, the authors find that, like democratic voters elsewhere, Latin Americans respond to long-term forces, such as social class, political party ties, and political ideology while also paying attention to short-term issues, such as the economy, crime, corruption. Of course, Latin Americans differ from other Americans, and among themselves. Voters who have experienced left-wing populism may favor government curbs on freedom of expression, for example, while voters enduring high levels of economic deprivation or instability tend to vote against the party in power. The authors thus conclude that, to a surprising extent, the Michigan model offers a powerful explanatory model for voting behavior in Latin America.