Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

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Oxford University Press, 2018 M03 28 - 304 páginas
During Latin America's third democratic wave, a majority of countries adopted a runoff rule for the election of the president, effectively dampening plurality voting, opening the political arena to new parties, and assuring the public that the president will never have anything less than majority support. In a region in which undemocratic political parties were common and have often been dominated by caudillos, cautious naysayers have voiced concerns about the runoff process, arguing that a proliferation of new political parties vying for power is a sign of inferior democracy. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality rules throughout Latin America, and demonstrates that, in contrast to early scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for democracy in the region. Primarily through qualitative analysis for each country, the author argues that, indeed, an important advantage of runoff is the greater openness of the political arena to new parties--at the same time that measures can be taken to inhibit party proliferation. In this context, it is also the first volume to address whether or not a runoff rule with a reduced threshold (for example, 40% with a 10-point lead) is a felicitous compromise between majority runoff and plurality. The book considers the potential for the superiority of runoff to travel beyond Latin America--in particular, and rather provocatively, to the United States.
 

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Contenido

Acknowledgments
1920
Research Design and Quantitative Analysis
1937
Why Was Runoff Superior? Theory and CrossNational Evidence
1956
Problems in Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Paraguay
1996
Success in Brazil Chile the Dominican Republic El Salvador
2014
Colombia Ecuador
2014
Is a Reduced Threshold Better? Argentina and Costa Rica
1932
Conclusion and the Future of PresidentialElection Rules
1951
Appendices
1973
Bibliography
2014
Index
2038
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Cynthia McClintock is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University.

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