Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

Häftad, Engelska, 2018

AvCynthia McClintock,George Washington University) McClintock, Cynthia (Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs,Cynthia Mcclintock

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During Latin America's third democratic wave, a majority of countries adopted a runoff rule for the election of the president, effectively dampening plurality voting, opening the political arena to new parties, and assuring the public that the president will never have anything less than majority support. In a region in which undemocratic political parties were common and have often been dominated by caudillos, cautious naysayers have voiced concerns about the runoff process, arguing that a proliferation of new political parties vying for power is a sign of inferior democracy. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality rules throughout Latin America, and demonstrates that, in contrast to early scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for democracy in the region. Primarily through qualitative analysis for each country, the author argues that, indeed, an important advantage of runoff is the greater openness of the political arena to new parties--at the same time that measures can be taken to inhibit party proliferation. In this context, it is also the first volume to address whether or not a runoff rule with a reduced threshold (for example, 40% with a 10-point lead) is a felicitous compromise between majority runoff and plurality. The book considers the potential for the superiority of runoff to travel beyond Latin America--in particular, and rather provocatively, to the United States.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2018-05-10
Mått231 x 155 x 22 mm
Vikt476 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor336
FörlagOUP USA
ISBN9780190879761

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AcknowledgmentsChapter One: IntroductionChapter Two: Research Design and Quantitative AnalysisChapter Three: Why Was Runoff Superior? Theory and Cross-National EvidenceChapter Four: Plurality: Problems in Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Venezuela (and the Panama Exception)Chapter Five: Runoff: Success in Brazil, Chile, The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and UruguayChapter Six: Runoff Amid a Plethora of Political Parties: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and PeruChapter Seven: Runoff: Is a Reduced Threshold Better? Argentina and Costa RicaChapter Eight: Conclusion and the Future of Presidential-Election RulesAppendicesNotes Bibliography Index

This is a very important and highly original contribution to the literature on presidentialism and electoral institutions, by a distinguished scholar of Latin American politics. Questioning prevailing academic wisdom, and systematically weighing the evidence from Latin America with multiple methods, Cynthia McClintock shows that runoff election rules are clearly superior to the plurality system for electing presidents. Runoff elections do in fact produce what could be logically predicted: more legitimate and ideologically moderate presidents, and a higher quality and vitality of democracy. This powerful finding should significantly shape not only academic analysis but also future thinking about institutional design and reform.

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