Quebec Block Voting and the Canadian Electoral System

1995 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Bakvis ◽  
Laura G. Macpherson
Keyword(s):  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Fact ◽  
The Government ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThis article examines two contrasting views of Quebec block voting in federal elections. One view has it that the Quebec electorate tends to behave in a monolithic fashion; the other, put by Cairns in 1968, claims that this phenomenon is “a contrivance of the electoral system, not an autonomous social fact.” The evidence shows that block voting, namely, the degree to which an electorate mobilizes behind the largest party, is much more pronounced in Quebec than it is in other provinces, and especially when compared to that in Ontario. Quebec is also more likely than Ontario to determine which party forms the government. The tendency of the electoral system to magnify seat allocations to the largest party, however, is only marginally greater in Quebec relative to Ontario. At the same time, the composition of the Quebec “block” vote has varied considerably over time; it has not always been a distinctively francophone phenomenon. The article further challenges the assumption that the single-member plurality system is inherently inferior to proportional representation as a means of securing the protection of minorities in ethnically diverse societies.

Government Formation and Endogenous Parties

1993 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Baron
Keyword(s):  
Formal Theory ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Government Formation ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
System A ◽  
Parliamentary Systems ◽  
The Government

I provide a formal theory of government for a political system characterized by a proportional representation electoral system, a parliamentary government that exercises collective responsibility, and a government formation process. Political parties are assumed to be policy-oriented and to serve the interests of those who vote for them. Parties choose policy platforms that determine their representation in parliament; and given that representation, the parties bargain over the government to be formed and the policies that government will implement. The model yields equilibria with the property that parties choose dispersed policy positions. Thus, electoral incentives in proportional representation parliamentary systems need not lead to policy convergence. The theory provides predictions of party locations such as those developed in the manifesto project.

The Electoral System of Israel

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Shugart
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Product Model ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Proportional Systems ◽  
Seat Allocation ◽  
Over Time

The electoral system of Israel is an “extreme” example of proportional representation because of its use of a single nationwide district. This feature has been a constant since 1949, while secondary features, such as legal thresholds and the proportional seat-allocation formula, have changed and had an impact on degrees of proportionality. The party system is highly fragmented, as expected in extreme proportional systems. By applying the Seat Product Model to indices of election outcomes, it is possible to determine whether Israel’s system is more or less fragmented and proportional than expected for its institutional design. This chapter reports that the long-term average outputs are about as expected, but they have fluctuated over time. Some of these fluctuations reflect changes in the secondary features of the system, while others are the results of political factors independent of the institutions.

Electoral Systems in Context

2017 ◽  
pp. 920-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Allen
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Political Outcomes ◽  
The Face ◽  
Over Time

This chapter examines the evolution of the Indonesian electoral system and its effects on political outcomes. Although Indonesia has repeatedly chosen to conduct elections using proportional representation, electoral rules have changed considerably over time. The chapter traces two trajectories of reform in the post-Suharto era: one restricting opportunities for small parties and the other restricting the power of party leadership. Efforts to shape party system outcomes using electoral rules have succeeded in some areas, particularly in preventing the formation of regional partisan cleavages. Yet the proliferation of political parties in the face of reforms meant to consolidate the party system underline the limits of institutional design.

Electoral Systems and the Number of Parties in Postcommunist States

1999 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Moser
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Standard Pattern ◽  
Representation Systems ◽  
Party Institutionalization ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Over Time

Scholars studying electoral systems have consistently found that single-member plurality elections tend to constrain the number of parties operating in a polity to a much greater extent than multimember proportional representation systems. This article tests this hypothesis in the post-communist context by examining the effects of proportional representation and single-member district elections on the number of parties in five postcommunist states. It is shown that some postcommunist states, most notably Poland and Hungary, have followed the standard pattern of party consolidation over time in reaction to incentives of electoral systems, while others, most notably Russia and Ukraine, have not. The author argues that the different effects of electoral systems can be attributed to different levels of party institutionalization found in postcommunist states.These findings have policy implications. Under conditions of extreme party underdevelopment, the electoral system that promotes the use of party labels—proportional representation—may be more effective than the plurality system in constraining the number of parties, provided a legal threshold is used. This runs counter to the conventional wisdom that plurality elections offer the greatest constraint on the number of parties.

Challenges of Curbing Criminality in Nigeria’s Maritime Domain and its Attendance Implications on Youth Empowerment

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 533-537
Author(s):  
Etiese Etuk
Keyword(s):  
Maritime Transportation ◽  
Maritime Security ◽  
The Other ◽  
Youth Empowerment ◽  
Gulf Of Guinea ◽  
Stream Discharge ◽  
Oil Pipelines ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
The Government ◽  
Over Time

Increasing cases of piracy, sea robbery, illegal bunkering and unauthorized mid-stream discharge, among several other criminalities, constitute a major source of concern to maritime administrations in the Gulf of Guinea, including that of Nigeria.  Youth restiveness especially on the waterways of the Nigerian waters is of great concern to the government of Nigeria and the international communities. Youths grudges hinge on the gross negligence by the multinational oil exploration and production companies operating in the domains on areas of youth employment and empowerment, environmental devastation, education, negligence on environmental impacts restorations etc. While Nigerian current maritime security regulatory framework is not robust enough, enhancement must be made over time in order to continuously improve and deliver a secured maritime transportation system in Nigeria. The youths on the other hand inadvertently believe that by robbing in the water ways, kidnapping of individuals in the water ways for money, sabotaging oil pipelines, hijacking ships and vessels in the water ways and emptying their contents and then re-selling same to other buyers is a quick source of financial empowerment of the youths.

scholarly journals La reducción del número de parlamentarios y la propuesta de reforma del sistema de elección del Consejo Superior de la Magistratura en Italia

2021 ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Roberto Romboli
Keyword(s):  
Electoral System ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
The Other ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Regulatory Changes ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Electoral Campaign ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
The Government

El ensayo analiza la reciente reforma constitucional llevada a cabo en Italia que ha reducido significativamente el número de parlamentarios y el proyecto de ley del Gobierno con el que se pretende reformar el sistema de elección de los miembros del Consejo Superior de la Magistratura. En relación con la primera cuestión, trata de reconstruirse la tramitación seguida para la aprobación de la ley de reforma constitucional, el referéndum constitucional de septiembre de 2020 y las razones que la han motivado. A tal objeto, se reproduce, en síntesis, el debate mantenido entre la doctrina constitucionalista durante la campaña electoral del referéndum, y se indican las adaptaciones normativas que deben hacerse para implementar la reforma. Por lo que respecta a la propuesta de reforma del sistema de elección del CSM, se analizan las razones y el contenido del proyecto de ley y los aspectos que podrían afectar al modelo de CSM definido en la Constitución.The essay analyses the recent constitutional reform in Italy that has significantly reduced the number of parliamentarians. It also focuses on the Government bill which aims to reform the electoral system of the High Council of the Judiciary’s members. Regarding the first question, the essay reviews the process followed for the approval of the reform law, the constitutional referendum of September 2020 and the reasons which inspired the reform. To this end, it reproduces, briefly, the debate held by the constitutional doctrine during the referendum’s electoral campaign, and the regulatory changes that must be made to implement the reform are indicated. On the other hand, regarding the proposed reform of the CSM’s electoral system, the reasons and content of the bill are analysed as well as the aspects that could affect the CSM’s constitutional design.

scholarly journals WATER SECURITY IN ECOLOGICAL POLITICS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC ERA

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yunus Zulkifli
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Water Security ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ecological Problem ◽  
The Government ◽  
Ecological Politics ◽  
Ecological Leadership ◽  
Real Action ◽  
Over Time

The major challenges related to water security today are efforts to reduce flood risk; and efforts to increase water supply for communities, industry and agriculture. The ecohydrological approach is present as a solution to these two challenges. On the other hand, the ecological problem with the issue of water security in it has developed over time and awaits real action by the government. In a political framework, ecological issues have been considered marginal and lacking in priority instead of being dominated by other fields, such as economy, law, and infrastructure. In fact, the government is to be committed to promoting eco-friendly development. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, leadership that cares about the environment as a manifestation of ecological politics is a necessity, and is expected to be present both substantially and factually. With the spirit of ecological leadership, strengthening the environmental sector will be on par with other sectors.  Keywords: water security, eco-friendly development, ecological politics, ecological leadership.    

Germany's Mixed-Member Electoral System: A Victim of its Sophistication?

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-237
Author(s):  
Christian Tomuschat
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
General Public ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Homogeneous Body ◽  
System A ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Tremendous Challenge

To shape a legitimate electoral system is a tremendous challenge for any parliamentary body. It cannot evade the responsibility of enacting the requisite statutory rules since no other State organ has the authority to make determinations which are substantially of a constitutional character. How, and under what conditions, citizens choose their representatives pertains to the key issues in a democratic system. But it is a truism to state that a parliament is not a homogeneous body; it is normally composed of different groups with highly divergent interests. Groups representing large political parties tend to favor a majoritarian electoral system, following with greater or slighter variations the British model of first past the post where the highest number of ballots in a given constituency determines the winner of the seat in issue, even though the candidate may have obtained only a relative plurality. Smaller parties, on the other hand, put their preferences on proportional representation, which ensures them a share of the seats corresponding to their share of the vote. To their regret, parties supported only by a low fraction of the electorate cannot, which is self-evident, impose their preferred option, having to wait for pressure to build up in the general public to promote their concerns. Thus, parliaments are neither neutral nor objective when they make determinations in electoral matters.

The Electoral System of Israel

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Shugart
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Product Model ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Proportional Systems ◽  
Seat Allocation ◽  
Over Time

The electoral system of Israel is an “extreme” example of proportional representation because of its use of a single nationwide district. This feature has been a constant since 1949, while secondary features, such as legal thresholds and the proportional seat-allocation formula, have changed and had an impact on degrees of proportionality. The party system is highly fragmented, as expected in extreme proportional systems. By applying the Seat Product Model to indices of election outcomes, it is possible to determine whether Israel’s system is more or less fragmented and proportional than expected for its institutional design. This chapter reports that the long-term average outputs are about as expected, but they have fluctuated over time. Some of these fluctuations reflect changes in the secondary features of the system, while others are the results of political factors independent of the institutions.

Emotional Impact Feedback Changes How We Remember Negative Autobiographical Experiences

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 354-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Perspective ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Negative Memory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Memories ◽  
Over Time

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.

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