Democracy and Elections: Electoral Systems and their Political Consequences

by Vernon Bogdanor (Editor), David Butler (Editor)

Overview

Originally published in 1983, Democracy and Elections analyses the main electoral systems of modern democracies, and places them in their institutional and historical context. A distinguished group of contributors provide interpretations of the electoral systems of the EEC countries and Japan, and assess the ways in which different electoral systems affect the political practice of each country. If the book has a single theme, it is that one should be sceptical about attributing fixed qualities to electoral systems. Although amongst the quantifiable of political phenomena, they do not conform to mechanistic rules, but must be understood in terms of the historical experience and cultural outlook of different societies. What is striking is the great variety of ways in which different countries have attempted to meet the problem of translating votes into seats.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521272827
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/18/1983
Pages:	278
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.63(d)

Table of Contents

Contributors; Preface; Glossary; 1. Introduction Vernon Bogdanor; 2. Elections and electoral systems: choices and alternatives Richard Rose; 3. Variants of the Westminster model David Butler; 4. France David Goldey and Philip Williams; 5. Germany Peter Pulzer; 6. Italy Christopher Seton-Watson; 7. Scandinavia Bo Särlvik; 8. Benelux Dick Leonard; 9. The Republic of Ireland Paul McKee; 10. Greece Richard Clogg; 11. Japan J. A. A. Stockwin; 12. The European Parliament Michael Steed; 13. Conclusion: electoral systems and party systems Vernon Bogdanor; Index.