Domestic Perspectives on Contemporary Democracy by Peter F. Nardulli

Author:Peter F. Nardulli [Nardulli, Peter F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, Political Ideologies, Democracy
ISBN: 9780252033193
Google: gdVnJOAhxr4C
Goodreads: 2722412
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 2008-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Conclusion

Stemming from Arrow’s (1962) “Impossibility Theorem,” it has become one of the clichés of the literature on social choice theory that “no voting rule is uniformly best” with respect to all plausible normative criteria. Ethnic impact is only one aspect of electoral system choice; there are other competing desiderata that may lead us in different directions than the approaches favored by either Horowitz or Lijphart. Also, in general, choice of electoral rules raises questions of what will happen, and not just normative issues of what should happen. Frequently, normative and empirical considerations are hard to separate. Beliefs about what should be done may be highly contingent on what the expected consequences of any choice will be. Further, no change is likely to have just one consequence. Thus, we would emphasize that, in judging an electoral rule, we must look not merely to its abstract theoretical properties, but how it is likely to operate “on the ground” in the historical and socio-political context in which it is being embedded.

Much of the attraction of modern electoral engineering formulae arises from claims that they might provide mechanisms for (1) challenging the power of vested interests and/or the elite; (2) mitigating ethnic tension or promoting moderation; and/or (3) forcing aspiring parliamentarians to keep their promises or reduce corruption. Yet these are political tasks, which are unlikely to succeed unless popular support can be mobilized behind them. Furthermore, electoral systems may also matter in ways that differ from those envisaged by their architects—as we saw when we considered the history of electoral reform in Fiji. Also, we would emphasize that “the devil is in the details.” Rules that seem identical when viewed in terms of their large-scale properties may operate quite differently from one another when we consider more fine-tuned details. These details include such things as the nature of the candidate selection process, the number of seats per constituency, and, for preference-based rules such as the alternative vote and STV, whether complete rankings of all preferences must be submitted. Still, despite these important caveats, electoral systems do matter. They do have important direct and indirect impacts on voter loyalties, alliances, and coalitions, party strategy, and the composition of legislative chambers.32 Political culture is not “everything.”

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