Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

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.

Autorentext

Cynthia McClintock is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Research Design and Quantitative Analysis Chapter Three: Why Was Runoff Superior? Theory and Cross-National Evidence Chapter Four: Plurality: Problems in Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Venezuela (and the Panama Exception) Chapter Five: Runoff: Success in Brazil, Chile, The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Uruguay Chapter Six: Runoff Amid a Plethora of Political Parties: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru Chapter Seven: Runoff: Is a Reduced Threshold Better? Argentina and Costa Rica Chapter Eight: Conclusion and the Future of Presidential-Election Rules Appendices Notes Bibliography Index