October 25, Slides 11 Flashcards
How does the electoral system influence the success of political parties?
The electoral system determines which types of political parties are more likely to succeed. For example, proportional representation (PR) tends to favor smaller or issue-based parties, while single-member plurality (SMP) often benefits larger, broad-based parties.
How does the electoral system shape political priorities?
Different electoral systems highlight specific political issues. For instance, SMP systems may emphasize regional inequalities due to geographic representation, whereas PR systems might focus more on class-based or ideological divisions since every vote counts.
How do electoral systems affect perceptions of inequality?
Electoral systems influence whether inequality is framed in terms of regions (as in SMP systems with strong geographic representation) or social classes (as in PR systems where parties often represent specific socioeconomic groups).
How are electoral systems shaped by historical and political factors?
Electoral systems often reflect the political and historical contexts of their creation. PR systems are more common in countries where representative democracy emerged after industrialization, while SMP systems are more typical in nations with pre-industrialization representative institutions or multinational and multilingual societies.
Why are PR systems more likely in post-industrialized countries?
PR systems are often adopted in post-industrialized countries because working-class movements and political parties have become significant, pushing for systems that ensure broader representation.
Why do SMP systems align with pre-industrial representative institutions?
SMP systems tend to develop in countries where representative institutions existed before industrialization, reflecting historical structures that prioritized regional or national unity over socioeconomic diversity.
How do electoral systems impact regional versus class-based politics?
SMP systems often emphasize regional politics due to geographic representation, making local concerns and inequalities more salient. In contrast, PR systems facilitate class-based politics by giving diverse socioeconomic groups proportional representation.
What role does industrialization play in shaping electoral systems?
Countries that industrialized before adopting democratic institutions, like many SMP countries, often focus on regional or national cohesion. In contrast, countries that industrialized first and adopted PR later often prioritize class-based representation.
How do electoral systems affect political stability?
SMP systems tend to create stable, majority governments due to their winner-take-all nature, while PR systems often lead to coalition governments, which can result in greater political instability but broader representation.
What connection exists between multilingual countries and electoral systems?
Multinational or multilingual countries often adopt SMP systems to simplify governance and foster regional representation, while PR systems might be seen as complicating unity by giving more weight to diverse linguistic or cultural groups.
