The Politics Of Electoral Reform

Author : Alan Renwick
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 327 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2010-02-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781139486774

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The Politics of Electoral Reform by Alan Renwick Pdf

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.

Author : Andrew Potter,Daniel Weinstock,Peter Loewen
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2017-04-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780773550827

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Should We Change How We Vote? by Andrew Potter,Daniel Weinstock,Peter Loewen Pdf

During the 2015 federal election, the Liberal Party pledged that, if elected, they would end the “first past the post” electoral system, where whichever candidate receives the most votes wins a riding even if they have not received a majority of all votes cast. In early 2017, the Liberals reneged on their campaign promise, declaring that there was a lack of public consensus about how to reform the system. Despite the broken promise – and because of the public outcry – discussions about electoral reform will continue around the country. Challenging the idea that first past the post is obsolete, Should We Change How We Vote? urges Canadians to make sure they understand their electoral system before making drastic changes to it. The contributors to this volume assert that there is perhaps no institution more misunderstood and misrepresented than the Canadian electoral system – praised by some for ensuring broad regional representation in Ottawa, but criticized by others for allowing political parties with less than half the popular vote to assume more than half the seats in Parliament. They consider not only how the system works, but also its flaws and its advantages, and whether or not electoral reform is legitimate without a referendum. An essential guide to the crucial and ongoing debate about the country’s future, Should We Change How We Vote? asks if there are alternative reforms that would be easier to implement than a complete overhaul of the electoral system.

Author : Reuven Y. Hazan,Monique Leyenaar
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 282 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2014-06-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781317978916

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Understanding Electoral Reform by Reuven Y. Hazan,Monique Leyenaar Pdf

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.

Author : Shaun Bowler,Todd Donovan
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 176 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2013-03-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780191653155

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The Limits of Electoral Reform by Shaun Bowler,Todd Donovan Pdf

Institutions 'matter' to electoral reform advocates and political scientists - both argue that variation in electoral institutions affect how elected officials and citizens behave. Change the rules, and citizen engagement with politics can be renewed. Yet a look at the record of electoral reform reveals a string of disappointments. This book 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. Despite reform advocates' claims, and contrary to the 'institutions matter' literature, findings here suggest there are hard limits to effects of electoral reform. The explanations for this are threefold. The first is political. Reformers exaggerate claims about transformative effects of new electoral rules, yet their goal may simply be to maximize their partisan advantage. The second is empirical. Cross-sectional comparative research demonstrates that variation in electoral institutions corresponds with different patterns of political attitudes and behaviour. But this method cannot assess what happens when rules are changed. Using examples from the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia, and elsewhere this book examines attitudes and behaviour across time where rules were changed. Results do not match expectations from the institutional literature. Third is a point of logic. There is an inflated sense of the effects of institutions generally, and of electoral institutions in particular. Given the larger social and economic forces at play, it is unrealistic to expect that changes in electoral arrangements will have substantial effects on political engagement or on how people view politics and politicians. Institutional reform is an almost constant part of the political agenda in democratic societies. Someone, somewhere, always has a proposal not just to change the workings of the system but to reform it. The book is about how and why such reforms disappoint. Comparative Politics is a series for students, teachers, and researchers of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterised by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu. The Comparative Politics series is edited by Professor David M. Farrell, School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin, and Kenneth Carty, Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia.

Author : André Blais
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2008-05-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780199539390

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To Keep Or To Change First Past The Post? by André Blais Pdf

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.

Author : Michael Meadowcroft
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Election law
ISBN : 0903291118

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The Politics of Electoral Reform by Michael Meadowcroft Pdf

Author : Shaun Bowler,Todd Donovan
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 173 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2013-03-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780199695409

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The Limits of Electoral Reform by Shaun Bowler,Todd Donovan Pdf

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.

Author : Michael Gallagher,Paul Mitchell
Publisher : Oxford University Press on Demand
Page : 662 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2008-01-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0199238677

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The Politics of Electoral Systems by Michael Gallagher,Paul Mitchell Pdf

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?'

Author : Sarah Shair-Rosenfield
Publisher : Weiser Center for Emerging Dem
Page : 245 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472131501

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Electoral Reform and the Fate of New Democracies by Sarah Shair-Rosenfield Pdf

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

Author : Samuel Edward Finer
Publisher : [London] : Anthony Wigram
Page : 392 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 1975
Category : Political Science
ISBN : UOM:39015003657239

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Adversary Politics and Electoral Reform by Samuel Edward Finer Pdf

Author : Daniel O. Prosterman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2013-02-14
Category : History
ISBN : 9780195377736

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Defining Democracy by Daniel O. Prosterman Pdf

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.

Author : Amy Catalinac
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2016-01-25
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781107120495

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Electoral Reform and National Security in Japan by Amy Catalinac Pdf

This book argues that Japanese politicians pay more attention to security issues nowadays because of the electoral reform.

Author : Nathan F. Batto,Chi Huang,Alexander C. Tan,Gary W. Cox
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2016-04-11
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472119738

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Mixed-Member Electoral Systems in Constitutional Context by Nathan F. Batto,Chi Huang,Alexander C. Tan,Gary W. Cox Pdf

An examination of the ways in which the introduction of mixed-member electoral systems affects the configuration of political parties

Author : Michael Dummett
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Political Science
ISBN : UOM:39015041010441

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Principles of Electoral Reform by Michael Dummett Pdf

A country's electoral system has a profound effect on its politics; its citizens ought therefore to ask themselves at frequent intervals whether that currently in force is satisfactory. This book does not argue for a particular answer, but aims to help people think about the question. Fewrealize how much thought it needs. One should not begin by asking whether this or that system is better, but by trying to make precise what we want an electoral system to do. A general election has two effects: it decides the composition of Parliament; and it decides who is going to representeach constituency. The question of what we want an electoral system to do therefore splits in two: how should Parliament be divided between the parties, given the voter's preferences? and which are the most representative local candidates, given the voter's preferences? Neither question isstraightforward, but this timely new book helps to explain on what basis we should decide which electoral system we should have.

Author : Gideon Rahat
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2009-01-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0791473503

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The Politics of Regime Structure Reform in Democracies by Gideon Rahat Pdf

Analyzes initiatives aimed at reforming the electoral and government systems of Israel in comparison to other established democracies.