Proportional Representation, Large District Magnitude and Closed Lists

Q3 Social Sciences

World Political Science Pub Date : 2017-12-20 DOI:10.1515/wps-2017-0007

R. Buben, K. Kouba

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引用次数: 5

Abstract

Abstract Choosing the type of electoral system in new democracies has become a contested issue for social scientists as well as for political actors. Contrary to the state of the public debate on the issue, the article advances the position from a multidisciplinary standpoint (political science, historical sociology, economics) that proportional representation with large districts and closed lists performs better on a variety of key indicators. We review recent literature on the performance of electoral systems especially in post-communist and Latin American democracies. The article identifies the centripetal theory of democracy as a normative basis for our institutional prescriptions and discusses how distinct types of political representation relate to the debate on electoral systems. We focus especially on four main concerns commonly associated with proportional representation (the rise of “extremist” parties, government instability, party system deconsolidation, and corruption and clientelism). Contrary to much of the public debate on electoral systems, we conclude that further steps towards personalization (by opening lists or reducing district magnitude) are not advisable.

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比例代表制、大选区规模和封闭名单

在新民主国家中选择选举制度的类型已经成为社会科学家和政治行动者的一个有争议的问题。与公众对这一问题的辩论状态相反，文章从多学科的角度(政治学、历史社会学、经济学)提出了一个观点，即大选区和封闭名单的比例代表制在各种关键指标上表现更好。我们回顾了最近关于选举制度表现的文献，特别是在后共产主义和拉丁美洲民主国家。本文将民主的向心理论确定为我们制度规定的规范基础，并讨论了不同类型的政治代表如何与选举制度的辩论相关联。我们特别关注与比例代表制相关的四个主要问题(“极端主义”政党的兴起、政府的不稳定、政党制度的解体以及腐败和裙带关系)。与大多数关于选举制度的公开辩论相反，我们的结论是，进一步走向个性化(通过开放名单或减少选区规模)是不可取的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

World Political Science Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations

CiteScore

0.70

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： World Political Science (WPS) publishes translations of prize-winning articles nominated by prominent national political science associations and journals around the world. Scholars in a field as international as political science need to know about important political research produced outside the English-speaking world. Sponsored by the International Political Science Association (IPSA), the premiere global political science organization with membership from national assoications 50 countries worldwide WPS gathers together and translates an ever-increasing number of countries'' best political science articles, bridging the language barriers that have made this cutting-edge research inaccessible up to now. Articles in the World Political Science cover a wide range of subjects of interest to readers concerned with the systematic analysis of political issues facing national, sub-national and international governments and societies. Fields include Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Sociology, Political Theory, Political Economy, and Public Administration and Policy. Anyone interested in the central issues of the day, whether they are students, policy makers, or other citizens, will benefit from greater familiarity with debates about the nature and solutions to social, economic and political problems carried on in non-English language forums.