THE POLITICS OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

Edited by

Michael Gallagher and Paul Mitchell

Oxford University Press , 2005

Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
Preface  

Foreword – Arend Lijphart

I  INTRODUCTION: ELECTORAL SYSTEMS AND ELECTORAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH

1          Introduction to Electoral Systems – Michael Gallagher and Paul Mitchell

2          Comparative Electoral Systems Research: The Maturation of a Field and New Challenges Ahead –         Matthew Søberg Shugart

3          Why are There so many (or so few) Electoral Reforms? – Richard S. Katz

II  SINGLE-MEMBER CONSTITUENCY SYSTEMS

4    Australia: The Alternative Vote in a Compliant Political Culture – David M. Farrell and Ian McAllister

5    Canada: Sticking to First-past-the-Post, for the Time Being – Louis Massicotte

6    France: Stacking the Deck – Robert Elgie

7    India: Two-Party Contests within a Multi-Party System – Anthony Heath, Siana Glouharova and Oliver Heath

8    United Kingdom: Plurality Rule under Siege – Paul Mitchell

9    United States of America: Perpetual Campaigning in the Absence of Competition – Shaun Bowler, Todd Donovan and Jennifer Van Heerde

III  MIXED SYSTEMS

10  Germany: Stability and Strategy in a Mixed-Member Proportional System – Thomas Saalfeld

11  Hungary: Holding back the Tiers – Kenneth Benoit

12  Italy: A Case of Fragmented Bipolarism – Roberto D’Alimonte

13  Japan: Haltingly Toward a Two-Party System – Steven R. Reed

14  New Zealand: The Consolidation of Reform? – Jack Vowles

15  Russia: The Authoritarian Adaptation of an Electoral System – Stephen White

IV  CLOSED LIST SYSTEMS

16  Israel: The Politics of Extreme Proportionality – Gideon Rahat and Reuven Y. Hazan

17  South Africa: One Party Dominance despite Perfect Proportionality – Amanda Gouws and Paul Mitchell

18  Spain: Proportional Representation with Majoritarian Outcomes – Jonathan Hopkin

V  PREFERENTIAL LIST SYSTEMS AND PR-STV

19  Austria: A Complex Electoral System with Subtle Effects – Wolfgang C. Müller

20  Belgium: Empowering Voters or Party Elites? – Lieven De Winter

21  Chile: The Unexpected (and Expected) Consequences of Electoral Engineering – Peter Siavelis

22  Denmark: Simplicity Embedded in Complexity (or Is it the Other Way Round?) – Jørgen Elklit

23  Finland: One Hundred Years of Quietude – Tapio Raunio

24  The Netherlands: The Sanctity of Proportionality – Rudy B. Andeweg

25  Ireland: The Discreet Charm of PR-STV – Michael Gallagher

VI  CONCLUSION

26            Conclusion – Michael Gallagher

 
Appendix A – The Mechanics of Electoral Systems
Appendix B – Indices of Fragmentation and Disproportionality
Appendix C – Effective Threshold and Effective District Magnitude
Appendix D – Values of indices for 22 countries at most recent election
Appendix E – Web sites related to elections, election results and electoral systems

Glossary
Abbreviations
Index