Between legitimacy and effectiveness
reforms in presidential election systems in Latin America
Keywords:
Electoral Reform, Political Parties, Latin AmericaAbstract
This article proposes a model to explain electoral reforms, understood as competitive political processes that evolve in a democratic context. The model departs from a political crisis context expressed in a strong electoral volatility, that leads to two different extreme types of electoral reform. When the reform is promoted by a "declining coalition", legitimacy arguments are mobilized and more inclusive rules are proposed. When the promoter is a "growing coalition", arguments on efficacy are used and more exclusive rules are put forward. The model is supported by an empirical analysis of all the reforms affecting presidential electoral rules that took place in South America from 1990.
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References
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Boix, Carles. 1999. "Setting the rules of the game: the choice of electoral systems in advanced democracies" en American Political Science Review 93(3): 609-624.
Buquet, Daniel. 2004. Balotaje vs. Mayoría Simple: el Experimento Uruguayo. La Doble Vuelta en Sudamérica, Centroamérica y Caribe. R. Martínez Mártínez. Barcelona, Institut de Ciencies Polítiques i Socials de Barcelona.
Colomer, Josep. 2004. ¿Cómo votamos? Los Sistemas Electorales del Mundo: Pasado, Presente y Futuro. Barcelona, Gedisa.
Cox, Gary. 1997. Making Votes Count: Strategic Coordination in the World's Electoral Systems. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Diamond, Larry. 1999. Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation. Baltimore & London, The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Duverger, Maurice. 1957. Los Partidos Políticos. México, Fondo de Cultura Económica.
García Díez, Fátima. 2001. The Emergence of Electoral Reforms in Contemporary Latin America. Barcelona, Institut de Ciènces Polítiques i Socials.
Geddes, Barbara. 1996. Initiation of new democratic institutions in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Institutional Design in New Democracies: Eastern Europe and Latin America. A. Lijphart, Waisman, C.H. Oxford, Westview Press: 14-52.
Jones, Mark P. 1995. Electoral Laws and the Survival of Presidential Democracies. South Bend, Universisty of Notre Dame Press.
Lijphart, Arend. 1994. Electoral Systems and Party Systems. A Study of Twenty Seven Democracies, 1945-1990. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Linz, Juan J. 1990. La Quiebra de las Democracias. México, Alianza Editorial Mexicana.
Lipset, Seymour M. 1988. El Hombre Político: Las Bases Sociales de la Política. Buenos Aires, Red Editorial Iberoamericana.
Maiwaring, Scott y Matthew S. Shugart (1997). Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Negretto, Gabriel L. 2006. "Choosing How to Choose Presidents: Parties, Military Rulers, and Presidential Elections in Latin America." The Journal of Politics 68(2): 421-433.
Payne, J. Mark, Daniel Zovatto y Mercedes Mateo Díaz. 2006. La Política Importa: Democracia y Desarrollo en América Latina. Washington D.C., BID-IDEA.
Shugart, Mattew S. y John Carey (1992). Presidents and assemblies: Constitutional Design and Elecotral Dynamics. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Taagepera, Rein Y Matthew S. Shugart (1989). Seats and Votes: The Effects and Determinats of Electoral Systems. New Haven, Yale University Press.
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Published
2018-10-29
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Articles
How to Cite
Between legitimacy and effectiveness: reforms in presidential election systems in Latin America. (2018). Revista Uruguaya De Ciencia Política, 16(1), 35-49. https://rucp.cienciassociales.edu.uy/index.php/rucp/article/view/233
