Matthew Shugart and Martin P. Wattenberg
Mixed-member electoral systems may well be the electoral reform of the 21st century, much as proportional representation (PR) was in the 20th century. In the view of many electoral reformers, mixed-member systems offer the best of both the traditional British single-seat district system and PR
systems. This book seeks to evaluate: why mixed-member systems have recently appealed to many countries with diverse electoral histories; and how well expectations for these systems have been met. Each major country, which has adopted a mixed system thus, has two chapters in this book, one on
origins and one on consequences. These countries are Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Israel, Japan, Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Hungary, and Russia. In addition, there are also chapters on the prospects for a mixed-member system being adopted in Britain and Canada, respectively.
The material
presented suggests that mixed-member systems have been largely successful thus far. They appear to be more likely than most other electoral systems to generate two-bloc party systems, without in the process reducing minor parties to insignificance. In addition, they are more likely than any other
class of electoral system to simultaneously generate local accountability as well as a nationally-oriented party system.
Mixed-member electoral systems have now joined majoritarian and proportional systems as basic options which must be considered whenever electoral systems are designed or
redesigned. Such a development represents a fundamental change in thinking about electoral systems around the world.
Matthew Soberg Shugart and Martin P. Wattenberg: Introduction: The Electoral Reform of the Twenty-first Century?
Part I: Placing Mixed-Member Systems in the World of Electoral Systems
Matthew Soberg Shugart and Martin P. Wattenberg: Mixed-Member Electoral Systems: A Definition
and Typology
Matthew Shugart: Extreme Electoral Systems and the Appeal of the Mixed-Member Alternative
Part II: Origins of Mixed-Member Systems
Susan E. Scarrow: Germany: The Mixed-Member System as a Political Compromise
David Denemark: Choosing MMP in New Zealand:
Explaining the 1993 Electoral Reform
Richard S. Katz: Reforming the Italian Electoral Law, 1993
Gideon Rahat: The Politics of Reform in Israel: How the Israeli Mixed System Came to Be
Steven R. Reed and Michael F. Thies: The Causes of Electoral Reform in Japan
Brian F. Crisp and
Juan Carlos Rey: The Sources of Electoral Reform in Venezuela
René Antonio Mayorga: Electoral Reform in Bolivia: Origins of the Mixed-Member Proportional System
Juan Molinar Horcasitas and Jeffrey Weldon: Reforming Electoral Systems in Mexico
John W. Schiemann: Hedging Against
Uncertainty: Regime Change and the Origins of Hungary's Mixed-Member System
Robert G. Moser and Frank C. Thames, Jr.: Compromise Amidst Political Conflict: The Origins of Russia's Mixed-Member System
Part III: Consequences of Mixed-Member Systems
Hans-Dieter Klingemann and
Bernhard Wessels: The Political Consequences of Germany's Mixed-Member System: Personalization at the Grass Roots?
Fiona Barker, Jonathan Boston, Stephen Levine, Elizabeth McLeay and Nigel S. Roberts: An Initial Assessment of the Consequences of MMP in New Zealand
Roberto D'Alimonte: Mixed
Electoral Rules, Partisan Realignment, and Party System Change in Italy
Reuven Y. Hazan: The Israeli Mixed Electoral System: Unexpected Reciprocal and Cumulative Consequences
Steven R. Reed and Michael F. Thies: The Consequences of Electoral Reform in Japan
Michael R. Kulisheck and
Brian F. Crisp: The Legislative Consequences of MMP Electoral Rules in Venezuela
René Antonio Mayorga: The Mixed-Member Proportional System and its Consequences in Bolivia
Jeffrey Weldon: The Consequences of The Mexicos Mixed Electoral System, 1988-1997
Kenneth Benoit: Evaluating
Hungary's Mixed-Member Electoral System
Robert G. Moser: The Consequences of Russia's Mixed-Member Electoral System
Part IV: Prospects for Reform in Other Countries
David M. Farrell: The United Kingdom Comes of Age: The British Electoral Reform Revolution of the 1990s
R.
Kent Weaver: Electoral Rules and Electoral Reform in Canada
Conclusion
Matthew Soberg Shugart and Martin P. Wattenberg: Are Mixed-Member Systems the Best of Both Worlds?
There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.
Matthew Soberg Shugart is at University of California, San Diego. Martin P. Wattenberg is at University of California, Irvine.
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