Democracy and Elections

by Richard S. Katz

Overview

This book addresses the relationship between four values of democratic theory—popular sovereignty, liberalism, personal development, and community—and the electoral institutions used to implement them. After a chapter sketching the electoral institutions of Athens, the Roman Republic, the medieval church, and pre-reform Britain, the book examines what role elections are expected to play in a variety of democratic theories. The major theme of this section is that the four values are largely incompatible; therefore, different choices must be made between them. Part II addresses the empirical consequences of electoral institutions by examining electoral systems worldwide with the objective of finding the institutions most appropriate to each model of democracy. This impressive study provides empirical information on more electoral institutions in more countries than has ever been available in one volume before.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195044294
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/02/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	9.28(w) x 6.36(h) x 1.13(d)

About the Author

Johns Hopkins University

Table of Contents

1	Values and Institutions	3
2	Early Voting and Elections	10
3	Popular Sovereignty	26
4	Liberal Democracy	46
5	Participationist Democracy	67
6	Communitarian Democracy	78
7	The Roles of Elections	100
8	The Description of Electoral Systems	107
9	Representation: The Relationship between Seats and Votes	119

Editorial Reviews

"...the book makes a solid contribution and should be of interest both to empirical students of elections and to democratic theorists."—Perspectives on Political Science

"...an excellent book that will be of tremendous use to scholars."—Political Science Quarterly

From the Publisher

Katz's fine book represents a notable advance in our understanding of elections. It will be of great interest to electoral sytems scholars as well as to anyone concerned with the relationship between elections and democracy...[A]n excellent book that will be of tremendous use to scholars. This utility stems from the book's exceptional linkage of democratic theory to the empirical study of electoral systems as well as its detailed empirical analysis.
— Political Science Quarterly

Mark P. Jones