Table of Contents

Arend Lijphart: Foreword
Part 1: Introduction: Electoral Systems and Electoral Systems Research
1: Michael Gallagher and Paul Mitchell: Introduction to Electoral Systems
2: Matthew Søberg Shugart: Comparative Electoral Systems Research: The Maturation of a Field and New Challenges Ahead
3: Richard S. Katz: Why are There so many (or so few) Electoral Reforms?
Part 2: Single-Member Constituency Systems
4: David M. Farrell and Ian McAllister: Australia: The Alternative vote in a Compliant Political Culture
5: Louis Massicotte: Canada: Sticking to First-past-the-Post, for the Time Being
6: Robert Elgie: France: Stacking the Deck
7: Anthony Heath, Siana Glouharova, and Oliver Heath: India: Two-Party Contests Within a Multi-Party System
8: Paul Mitchell: United Kingdom: Plurality Rule Under Siege
9: Shaun Bowler, Todd Donovan, and Jennifer Van Heerde: United States of America: Perpetual Campaigning in the Absence of Competition
Part 3: Mixed Systems
10: Thomas Saalfeld: Germany: Stability and Strategy in a Mixed-Member Proportional System
11: Kenneth Benoit: Hungary: Holding Back the Tiers
12: Roberto D'Alimonte: Italy: A Case of Fragmented Bipolarism
13: Steven R. Reed: Japan: Haltingly Toward a Two-Party System
14: Jack Vowles: New Zealand: The Consolidation of Reform?
15: Stephen White: Russia: The Authoritarian Adaptation of an Electoral System
Part 4: Closed List Systems
16: Gideon Rahat and Reuven Y. Hazan: Israel: The Politics of Extreme Proportionality
17: Amanda Gouws and Paul Mitchell: South Africa: One Party Dominance Despite Perfect Proportionality
18: Jonathan Hopkin: Spain: Proportional Representation with Majoritarian Outcomes
Part 5: Preferential List Systems and PR-STV
19: Wolfgang C. Müller: Austria: A Complex Electoral System with Subtle Effects
20: Lieven De Winter: Belgium: Empowering Voters or Party Elites?
21: Peter Siavelis: Chile: The Unexpected (and Expected) Consequences of Electoral Engineering
22: Jørgen Elklit: Denmark: Simplicity Embedded in Complexity (or Is it the Other Way Round?)
23: Tapio Raunio: Finland: One Hundred Years of Quietude
24: Rudy B. Andeweg: The Netherlands: The Sanctity of Proportionality
25: Michael Gallagher: Ireland: The Discreet Charm of PR-STV
Part 6: Conclusion
26: Michael Gallagher: Conclusion
Appendix A - The Mechanics of Electoral Systems
Appendix B - Indices of Fragmentation and Disproportionality
Appendix C: Effective Threshold and Effective District Magnitude
Appendix D: Values of Indices for 22 Countries at Most Recent Election
Appendix E: Web Sites Related to Elections, Election Results, and Electoral Systems

Reviews

'It is a treasure trove of information about electoral systems and comprehensively examines how votes get translated into seats across the democratic world'. Times Higher Education Supplement 'This is a very useful book which, not only for its biblical proportions, could justly claim to be a bible of electoral systems' Irish Political Studies 'This is not just any book on the politics of electoral systems; it is probably the book on the politics of electoral systems ... The authors of these studies are all highly talented scholars, who usually know the comparative literature as well as their countries. In other words, they know what they are talking about, and they have been given reasonably generous space and good editorial guidance with which to do it. The result is truly impressive'. West European Politics Overall, this is a superb collection, produced by scholars who know their subject matter and can present it in a very accessible form...this is a book for which much praise is due. Parliamentary Affairs 'This is not just any book on the politics of electoral systems; it is probably the book on the politics of electoral systems ... The authors of these studies are all highly talented scholars, who usually know the comparative literature as well as their countries. In other words, they know what they are talking about, and they have been given reasonably generous space and good editorial guidance with which to do it. The result is truly impressive West European Politics This excellent book highlights much of the best in electoral systems research. With top-quality authors, rigorous attention to some key issues and first-rate comparative overviews to introduce and summarize the chapters on individual countries, this book will be one of the first to be read by both experts and newcomers to electoral systems. Party Politics covers a wide variety of electoral systems from theoretical and empirical perspectives - and it does so excellently. This brand new work is destined to become no less than the bible of electoral systems ... this anthology is already a classic Canadian Journal of Political Science 'Overall, this is a superb collection, produced by scholars who know their subject matter and can present it in a very accessible form ... this is a book for which much praise is due. Parliamentary Affairs In the foreword to the Gallagher and Mitchell collection, Arend Lijphart describes the book as "an outstanding contribution to the electoral systems literature". It is difficult to disagree with this judgement' Political Studies Review This is a very useful book which, not only for its biblical proportions, could justly claim to be a bible of electoral systems Irish Political Studies It is a treasure trove of information about electoral systems and comprehensively examines how votes get translated into seats across the democratic world Times Higher political science and politics of electoral systems are treated in an understandable and at the same time comprehensive manner for a wide range of national electoral systems ... it is a very useful handbook of electoral systems for both specialists and students alike Acta Politica It is a valuable and important work of reference for anyone in academia or policy development with a serious interest in comparative electoral systems Representation