Electoral Engineering

Half-title
Title
Copyright
Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
PART I INTRODUCTION
1 Do Rules Matter?: Structure versus Culture
Rational-choice Institutionalism and the Calculus of Rewards
Electoral Incentives
Vote-Maximizing Political Actors
Party Bridging or Bonding Strategies
Particularistic or Programmatic Benefits
The Diversity of Parliamentary Representatives
The Direct and Indirect Impact of Rules upon Citizens
Reforming the Formal Electoral Rules
Cultural Modernization Theory and Habits of the Heart
The Process of Societal Modernization
The Impact of Modernization on Political Culture
The Acquisition of Enduring Cultural Values and the Socialization Process
The Limits of Electoral Engineering
Comparing Electoral Rules
Comparing Electoral Behavior
Time-Series Trends
Case Studies of Reform
The Research Design and Comparative Framework
Data Sources
Comparative Framework
The Plan of the Book
The Consequences for Voting Behavior
The Consequences for Political Representation
2 Classifying Electoral Systems
The Classification of Electoral Systems
Majoritarian Formulae
Plurality Elections
The Single Non-Transferable Vote, the Cumulative Vote, the Limited Vote, and the Bloc Vote
Second Ballot Elections
Alternative Vote
Proportional Representation Formulae
Party Lists Systems
Single Transferable Vote
Combined Systems
Combined-Dependent Systems
Combined-Independent Systems
Presidential Electoral Systems
Conclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Systems
3 Evaluating Electoral Systems
The Arguments For and Against Adversarial Democracy
Democratic Accountability
Strong Voter-Member Accountability
Governability
Decisive Elections
Responsiveness to the Electorate
Critiques
Arguments For and Against Consensual Democracy
Facilitate Deliberative and Collaborative Governance
Reduce the Barriers to Minor Parties
Maximize Electoral Participation
Ensure Parliamentary Diversity
Critiques
PART II THE CONSEQUENCES FOR VOTING BEHAVIOR
4 Party Systems
The Mechanical Effects of Electoral Systems on Party Competition
Party competition
The Proportionality of Votes to Seats
Conclusions
5 Social Cleavages
Theories of Social Cleavages and Voting Behavior
Rational-Choice Institutionalism and Campaign Strategies
Cultural Values and Modernization Theory
The Strength of Cleavage Politics
Socioeconomic Status
Household Income
Occupational Class
Trade Union Membership
Education
Religion
Demographic Factors: Generation and Gender
Linguistic Cleavages
Left–Right Ideology
The Effects of Electoral Systems on Cleavage Politics
6 Party Loyalties
Theories of Partisan Identification
Cultural Modernization and Partisan Identification
Rational-Choice Institutionalism
The Strength of Partisan Identification
National Context
Presidential vs. Parliamentary Executives
Party Systems
Social Structure and Partisanship
Political Attitudes and Partisanship
Partisan Identities and Voting Choice
7 Turnout
Rational-Choice and Cultural Modernization Theories of Voting Participation
The Costs and Benefits of Participation
Cultural Modernization, Civic Skills, and Motivational Attitudes
Analyzing Turnout
Cultural Modernization
The Impact of Political Institutions
Electoral Systems
Electoral Districts
Presidential versus Parliamentary Executives
Frequency of Contests
Political Parties
Electoral Laws
Compulsory Voting
Eligibility for the Franchise
Electoral Administration
Registration Processes
Polling Facilities
Cultural Attitudes and Individual Resources
Conclusions: Culture, Incentives, and Voting Participation
PART III THE CONSEQUENCES FOR POLITICAL REPRESENTATION
8 Women’s Representation
Analyzing Women’s Representation
Rational-Choice Institutionalism
Cultural Modernization
Evidence
Electoral Laws
Electoral Laws and Positive Action
Reserved Seats
Legal Gender Quotas
Voluntary Gender Quotas in Party Rules
Cultural Modernization
Conclusions
9 Ethnic Minorities
The Theoretical Framework
Proportionality
The Inclusion of Smaller Parties
The Inclusion of Ethnic Minority Parties
The Impact on Specific and Diffuse Support for the Political System
Testing Consociational Theory
Measuring Political Support and Core Hypotheses
Measuring the Primary Ethnic Cleavage
System Support
Conclusions and Discussion
10 Constituency Service
Candidate-Ballots
Preference-Ballots
Dual-Ballots
Party-Ballots
Review of the Literature
Indicators of Personal Voting
The Impact of Electoral Systems
Citizens’ Knowledge of Politicians
Voter Contact with MPs
Conclusions and Implications
PART IV CONCLUSIONS
11 The Impact of Electoral Engineering
Do Rules Matter?
The Consequences for Voting Behavior
Social Cleavages
Partisan Identification
Turnout
The Consequences for Political Representation
Gender Equality in Legislative Office
Ethnic Minorities
Constituency Service
The Lessons for Electoral Engineering
Bibliography
Notes
Chapter 1: Do Rules Matter? Structure versus Culture
Chapter 2: Classifying Electoral Systems
Chapter 3: Evaluating Electoral Systems
Chapter 4: Party Systems
Chapter 5: Social Cleavages
Chapter 6: Party Loyalties
Chapter 7: Turnout
Chapter 8: Women’s Representation
Chapter 9: Ethnic Minorities
Chapter 10: Constituency Service
Chapter 11: The Impact of Electoral Engineering
Index