The Politics of Electoral Reform

The Politics of Electoral Reform PDF Author: Alan Renwick
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139486772
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
Elections lie at the heart of democracy, and this book seeks to understand how the rules governing those elections are chosen. Drawing on both broad comparisons and detailed case studies, it focuses upon the electoral rules that govern what sorts of preferences voters can express and how votes translate into seats in a legislature. Through detailed examination of electoral reform politics in four countries (France, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand), Alan Renwick shows how major electoral system changes in established democracies occur through two contrasting types of reform process. Renwick rejects the simple view that electoral systems always straightforwardly reflect the interests of the politicians in power. Politicians' motivations are complex; politicians are sometimes unable to pursue reforms they want; occasionally, they are forced to accept reforms they oppose. The Politics of Electoral Reform shows how voters and reform activists can have real power over electoral reform.

The Politics of Electoral Reform

The Politics of Electoral Reform PDF Author: Alan Renwick
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139486772
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Get Book Here

Book Description
Elections lie at the heart of democracy, and this book seeks to understand how the rules governing those elections are chosen. Drawing on both broad comparisons and detailed case studies, it focuses upon the electoral rules that govern what sorts of preferences voters can express and how votes translate into seats in a legislature. Through detailed examination of electoral reform politics in four countries (France, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand), Alan Renwick shows how major electoral system changes in established democracies occur through two contrasting types of reform process. Renwick rejects the simple view that electoral systems always straightforwardly reflect the interests of the politicians in power. Politicians' motivations are complex; politicians are sometimes unable to pursue reforms they want; occasionally, they are forced to accept reforms they oppose. The Politics of Electoral Reform shows how voters and reform activists can have real power over electoral reform.

Understanding Electoral Reform

Understanding Electoral Reform PDF Author: Reuven Y. Hazan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317978919
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
The field of elections and electoral systems, and particularly electoral reform, has exhibited tremendous growth and cross-national appeal over the last two decades. However, beyond an increased knowledge of voting rules and their consequences for political representation, little attention has been devoted to the question of why electoral systems have recently undergone substantial change in several liberal democracies. This book addresses several new approaches to electoral reform. First, the scope of the study of electoral reform has been expanded. Second, contrary to previous studies of electoral reform, the conviction that the determinants of reform can be explained by one single approach has been replaced by a belief in a more comprehensive framework for analysis. Third, we move beyond political parties (acting in parliament and government) as the most significant source of electoral reform. Fourth, a focus on the determinants of electoral reform allows us to include motivations and objectives of electoral reform. A final advancement in the study of electoral reform is the inclusion of countries other than ‘established’ democracies. This book was published as a special issue of West European Politics.

Defining Democracy

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

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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.

The Politics of Electoral Reform

The Politics of Electoral Reform PDF Author: Michael Meadowcroft
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780903291118
Category : Election law
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description


The Limits of Electoral Reform

The Limits of Electoral Reform PDF Author: Shaun Bowler
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199695407
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
The Limits of Electoral Reform examines a variety of reforms, including campaign finance, direct democracy, legislative term limits, and changes to the electoral system itself. This study finds electoral reforms have limited, and in many cases, no effects. The findings here suggest there are hard limits to effects of electoral reform.

More Parties Or No Parties

More Parties Or No Parties PDF Author: Jack Santucci
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197630650
Category : Elections
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
"How should we think about electoral reform? What are the prospects for modern-day efforts to reform away the two-party system? This book offers a 'shifting coalitions' theory of electoral-system change, puts the Progressive Era in comparative perspective, and warns against repeating history. It casts reform as an effort to get or keep control of government, usually during periods of party realignment. Reform can be used to insulate some coalition, dislodge the one in power, or deal with noncommittal 'centrists.' Whether reform lasts depends less on the number of parties than whether it helps coalitions hold themselves together. This is where the Progressives got it wrong. Unable to win support for 'multi-party politics,' they built a reform movement on the idea of 'no parties.' They polarized local politics on the issue of 'corruption,' won proportional representation in 24 cities, then watched (and sometimes joined) its repeal in all but one case. Along the way, they found they needed parties after all, but the rules they had designed were not up to the task. This movement's legacy still shapes American politics: nonpartisan elections to undersized city councils. Today's reformers might do well to make peace with parties, and their critics might do well to make peace with having more. Keywords: American political development, comparative democratic institutions, electoral systems, institutional choice, party realignment, party systems, ranked-choice voting, representation, single transferable vote, social movements"--

The Politics of Electoral Systems

The Politics of Electoral Systems PDF Author: Michael Gallagher
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 9780199238675
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 662

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Book Description
Electoral systems matter. They are a crucial link in the chain connecting the preferences of citizens to the policy choices made by governments. They are chosen by political actors and, once in existence, have political consequences for those actors. They are an important object of study for anyone interested in the political process, and in this book we subject them to systematic analysis. In addition to some comparative chapters, the book contains full accounts of the operation of electoral systems in 22 countries: France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Israel, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Ireland, Hungary, Russia, Australia, Canada, India, the USA, Japan, New Zealand, Chile, and South Africa. The book provides detailed analyses of the operation of a diverse set of electoral systems in their national context. Each chapter explains how the electoral system really works in the given country, examining the strategic incentives the system provides tovoters, candidates, and parties. All country chapters have a common format and structure. Successive sections analyse: the institutional context; how each electoral system was chosen historically; how the current electoral system operates (the rules, mechanics, and ballot structure); and the political consequences of the current system (the impact on the party system, the internal life of parties, and the impact on parliament and government formation). Each country chapter then contains a final section which focuses on the politicization of electoral institutions. In recent years many countries have changed their electoral systems, either entirely or in part so there is a strong focus on the processes of electoral reform, both historically and prospectively. The book concentrates on the real world 'politics', as well as the 'political science' of electoral systems. The book will be of interest to those concerned with the practical political business of electoral reform. The bookcontains a wealth of evidence about the performance of various kinds of proportional representation and of non-PR systems. This will be invaluable for anyone interested in the question: 'What would be the best electoral system for my country?'

Electoral Reform and the Fate of New Democracies

Electoral Reform and the Fate of New Democracies PDF Author: Sarah Shair-Rosenfield
Publisher: Weiser Center for Emerging Dem
ISBN: 0472131508
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
How elites influenced major electoral reform in the emerging democracy of Indonesia

To Keep Or To Change First Past The Post?

To Keep Or To Change First Past The Post? PDF Author: André Blais
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199539391
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
This book offers a detailed examination of the politics of electoral reform in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, the debates that take place, the proposals that are advanced, and the strategies deployed by the actors.

To Keep or To Change First Past The Post?

To Keep or To Change First Past The Post? PDF Author: André Blais
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191561568
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
First past the post is one of the oldest and simplest electoral systems. The logic is simple: the candidate with the most votes wins. It is the system in place in some of the oldest democracies, most especially the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as the largest democracy, India. This is also a system that is hotly debated, and proposals for reform are often advanced. This book addresses the following questions: What fosters or hinders reform of first past the post? When and why does reform emerge on the political agenda? Who proposes and who opposes reform? When and why do reform proposals succeed or fail? What kind of proposal tends to be put on the table? Are some types of proposal more likely to succeed? Why? The first chapter undertakes a comparative analysis of the conditions under which reform is initiated. The following chapters investigate in detail the politics of electoral reform in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, the debates that take place, the proposals that are advanced, and the strategies deployed by the actors. These analyses contribute to a rich and nuanced understanding of why first past the post is often challenged and sometimes replaced.