The Origin of Electoral Systems in the Postwar Era

A worldwide approach
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-0-415-84732-2
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 160 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 254 g

Reihe: Routledge Research in Comparative Politics

This book explores and presents the influence of contextual factors on the choice of electoral systems for parliamentary elections in both democracies and non-democracies around the world.

Taking a macroscopic approach, the author focuses on structural explanations, with an emphasis on general patterns rather than country specific explanations. Drawn from a wealth of data, the book presents the frequency of the adoption of each electoral formula and system in the postwar era and is followed by a theoretical elaboration of electoral system choice. The author then draws on rational, cultural/historical and institutional theories which are systematically analyzed by means of sophisticated bivariate and multivariate techniques. Lundell demonstrates that few electoral systems have been chosen from rational considerations and the impact of the cultural and historical setting is tremendous; colonial legacy, regional influence and temporal trends largely explain the cross-national variation in electoral systems.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, electoral politics and comparative politics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lundell, Krister

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction 2. Research Design 3. Electoral Systems 4. The Rational Perspective 5. History and Culture: Patterns Of Diffusion 6. The Institutional Perspective 7. Multivariate Patterns 8. Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Krister Lundell is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. His previous publications include Determinantsof Candidate Selection: The Degree of Centralization in Comparative Perspective.