Polarization and Electoral Incentives: The End of the Chilean Consensus Democracy, 1990–2014

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Fábrega ◽  
Jorge González ◽  
Jaime Lindh

AbstractConsensus democracy among the main Chilean political forces ended abruptly after the 2013 presidential and parliamentary elections, the most polarized elections since the return to democracy in 1990. Relying on spatial voting theory to uncover latent ideological dimensions from survey data between 1990 and 2014, this study finds patterns of gradual polarization starting at least ten years before the collapse of consensus, based on an increasing demobilization of the political center that misaligned politicians from their political platforms (particularly in the center-left parties). That phenomenon changed the political support for the two main political coalitions and the intracoalition bargaining power of their various factions. The pattern also helps to explain the process behind the 2015 reform of the electoral system.

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (188) ◽  
pp. 495-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Syrovatka

The presidential and parliamentary elections were a political earthquake for the French political system. While the two big parties experienced massive losses of political support, the rise of new political formations took place. Emmanuel Macron is not only the youngest president of the V. Republic so far, he is also the first president not to be supported by either one of the two biggest parties. This article argues that the election results are an expression of a deep crisis of representation in France that is rooted in the economic transformations of the 1970s. The article analyses the political situation after the elections and tries to give an outlook on further political developments in France.


Res Publica ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-587
Author(s):  
William Fraeys

On October 8th 2000 municipal elections were held in Belgium to renew the local councils which had been elected in 1994. In the Walloon region and in Flanders in addition provincial elections were organised.  The aim of the article is to try and measure globally where the political forces stand after these elections and among others to assess whether significant swings have take place since june 13th, 1999, when the latest parliamentary and regional elections took place.  On the basis of an estimation of the global results in the municipal elections of the various parties in the Walloon region, in Flanders and in Brussels, backed up by the actual results of the provincial elections, one can say that the liberal group bas strengthened its first position.The Christian democrats, who make up the second most important political group and the Socialists, who rank third, have regained a large part of the losses they incurred onjune 13th, 1999.Although improving their results in comparison with 1994, the Green parties lost again part of their advance they registered in the parliamentary and regional elections and which had probably been boosted by the dioxin crisis.The frenchspeaking far right practically disappears, whereas the Vlaams Blok obtained an average of 15 % of the Flemish electorate in the municipal and provincial elections, a level which it had reached in the 1999 parliamentary elections.


1970 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth R. Libbey

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS IN DEMOCRATIC STATES HAVE USUALLY COME into existence as the manifestation of a principle of political philosophy or as the result of a compromise among forces with different aspirations for the polity. Often both factors have been involved. Certainly the consequences for political behaviour of introducing any particular structure have been of concern to its architects, but many of these consequences are unforeseeable and the actual impact of an institutional change or the character of a formal role may in time become quite different from that intended.For a political actor, such as an individual, an interest group or a party, formal structures are given attributes of the political environment. Along with the more diffuse qualities of the political culture, they constitute the framework within which political actors must compete for influence over public policy. This framework, both formal and informal, is uneven in its effects on the fortunes of the various political forces. It favours some approaches and some groups more and in different ways than it favours others. The British Labour Party, with its concentrated voting strength, is disadvantaged by the single-member district/plurality electoral system, while its counterpart in Germany is able to maximize its strength in a system of proportional representation.


Author(s):  
Olivier Lecucq

El sistema electoral francés, que se refiere a las elecciones «políticas», tiene varias características fundamentales. La más destacada es sin duda la elección presidencial, que es EL momento electoral en Francia y que condiciona la vida del régimen político de la Quinta República. Además, el respeto de la igualdad de sufragio, los vínculos con la nacionalidad y la competencia legislativa para regular los métodos de votación de las distintas elecciones son los aspectos más destacados en materia electoral. También es importante tener en cuenta las reformas a las que ha sido sometido, en relación con el objetivo de la paridad electoral o la reconfiguración de las elecciones parlamentarias, que actualmente se está reflejando en un proyecto de ley constitucional y una ley orgánica destinada a promover la renovación de la vida democrática y la moralización de la vida pública.The French electoral system, which concerns «political» elections, is marked by several fundamental features. The most remarkable is undoubtedly the presidential election, which is THE electoral moment in France and which conditions the life of the political regime of the Fifth Republic. Beyond that, respect for equal suffrage, the links with nationality and the exercise of legislative power to define the voting methods of the various elections are the highlights of electoral matters. It is also important to take into account the reforms that have been carried out in this area, with regard to the objective of electoral parity or the reconfiguration of parliamentary elections, which is currently being reflected in a draft constitutional law and a draft organic law designed to promote the renewal of democratic life and the moralization of public life. 


Author(s):  
Peter Bence Stumpf

A main topic of the 2018 election campaign in Hungary was strategic voting, seen as an opportunity for opposition parties to remove the governing coalition from power. Strategic split-ticket voting was incentivized by the political context and the electoral system and was further facilitated by a limited cooperation between opposition political forces. Nonetheless, demand-side coordination was indispensable in this aspect. While social media was an important channel during the campaign, it was not crucial for strategic voting as it was mostly used to reinforce the positions of candidates among their own supporters, “preaching to the choir”. The influence of strategically split ballots can be measured in seat shares by modeling what would have happened if there was no coordination and cooperation at all. Results indicate that strategic votes transferred a total of 15 seats from the governing parties to the opposition political blocs, however this was not enough to prevent the decisive victory of the Fidesz-KDNP and another two-thirds supermajority in the Hungarian National Assembly.


2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 138-149
Author(s):  
V. I. Melnychenko ◽  

In the article, on the basis of retrospective analysis of the results of parliamentary elections in 2006 and in 2007, author’s vision of the consequences of the proportional electoral system with a “flexible” list of leading political forces in Ukraine is set out. The proposals for non-use of T. Cheir quota for the distribution of the mandates among the lists and the provision of certain incentives for political parties to mitigate their losses in case of use of the electoral system are formulated.


The results of 2012, 2014, 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary elections which were conducted under the same parallel electoral system, are analyzed. The composition of the Verkhovna Rada of the 7th, 8th and 9th convocation by gender is compared, the possibility of participating in electoral races and being elected by both men and women is analyzed. The number of women and men who were selected by the proportional and majoritarian component of the electoral system is compared. The party composition of each convocation is examined. According to the 2012 elections, 450 people's deputies were elected, while only 423 people were elected during 2014 and 2019 elections. This is due to Russian aggression in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, which makes it impossible to hold elections in majoritarian constituencies of the indicated regions. With regard to the gender composition of the Parliament, the smallest number of women were represented in the 7th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, while the largest number was represented in the 9th convocation. This tendency is explained by raising public awareness and greater involvement of women in politics every year, because even with the constancy of the electoral system, the number of women in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has doubled. The majoritarian component of the parallel electoral system remains inaccessible to women, because twice as many women deputies get their seats by proportional component. The political composition of the Ukrainian Parliament changes during each election campaign. Only one political party has been able to overcome the 5 percent electoral barrier in all three of its last campaigns - the All-Ukrainian Motherland Association. Another party has been able to go to parliament twice - the Petro Poroshenko bloc / European Solidarity. All other 11 parties are represented in parliament with only one cadence. A characteristic feature of all three campaigns is the support for a large part of the population of the presidential parties, both in a proportional system and in a majority one, which testifies, however, to the significant influence of the political preferences of the population rather than the influence of the electoral system. The fact that parliament is renewed by more than two-thirds during each of the three election campaigns refutes the argument that MPs or parties do not change and that a new electoral system is required to update parliament.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-17
Author(s):  
Waldemar Wojtasik

Abstract The article presents the results of research on the congruence of the political representation formed in elections held in the years 2009-2011 in Poland. The election cycle included the European Parliamentary elections in 2009, the Polish presidential election, elections to local government in 2010, and the parliamentary elections in 2011. The median citizen, median voter, and their positions on the left-right scale were used as tools for examining congruence. Studies have proven that in Poland, the median citizen and the median voter are positioned on the right side of the left-right scale. The legislature and executive authorities chosen in the elections are located left of the median citizen and the median voter. Studies have not demonstrated the existence of any impact of the electoral system on the positioning of the median citizen and the median voter.


1972 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Rock

From the introduction of the Sáenz Pena Law in 1912 until the September Revolution of 1930, Argentina had its first experience of liberal representative government under an electoral system which accorded compulsory voting rights to the country's native-born male population. In this paper it is proposed to explore certain characteristics of urban politics and patterns of mass political participation during this period, employing as an example the city of Buenos Aires. An attempt is made to describe and define the ‘machine’ character which urban politics acquired during this period at the same time as making some assessment of the relative importance of machine characteristics against those of other kinds. What is meant by the ‘machine character’ of politics are the specific techniques for the political support which is based upon the distribution to individuals of concrete rewards, such as bureaucratic offices, charity donations and petty personal privileges.


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