Electoral Systems and Party Systems by Arend Lijphart

Electoral Systems and Party Systems by Arend Lijphart

An electoral system is the most fundamental element of representative democracy, translating citizen's votes into representatives' seats. It is also the most potent practical instrument available to democratic reformers. This systematic and comprehensive study describes and classifies the 70 electoral systems used by 27 democracies - including those of Western Europe, Australia, Canada, the USA, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, and New Zealand - for 384 national legislative and European Parliament elections between 1945 and 1990. Using comparative and statistical analyses of these systems, Arend Lijphart demonstrates the effect of the electoral formula used, the number of representatives elected per district, electoral thresholds, and of five other key features of electoral systems on the proportionality of the election outcome, the degree of multipartism, and the creation of majority parties. In the process he reveals that electoral systems are neither as diverse nor as complex as is often assumed. Electoral Systems and Party Systems represents the most definitive treatment of the subject since Rae's classic study in 1967, based as it is on more accurate and comprehensive data (covering more countries and over a longer time span), and using stronger hypotheses and better analytical methods. The unique information and analysis it offers will make it essential reading for everyone working in the field.

This is a must read book and while its data inevitably are now dated, its central arguments remain as strong and relevant to this very dayIn short, this is a masterful study. * David Farrell, Chair of the American Political Science Association George H. Hallet Award 2010 Committee *
an incredible amount of detail has been packed into a relatively slim volume * West European Politics *

Arend Lijphart is President-Elect of the American Political Science Association and is the author of a large number of other books including: Power-Sharing in South Africa (University of California, 1985) Democracies: Patterns of Majoritarian and Consensus Government in 21 Countries (Yale University Press, 1984 [new ed. forthcoming]) Electoral Laws and their Political Consequences (ed. with Bernard Grofman, Agathon Press, 1986) Choosing an Electoral System: Issues and Alternatives (ed. with Bernard Grofman, Praeger, 1984) Parliamentary vs Presidential Government (ed, OUP, 1992)

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780198280545
ISBN 10	0198280548
Title	Electoral Systems and Party Systems
Author	Arend Lijphart
Series	Comparative Politics
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	1995-11-16
Number of pages	228
Prizes	Winner of Winner of the American Political Science Association George H. Hallet Award 2010.
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.