Bc. Karel Höfer Komparativní volební inženýrství v postjugoslávském prostoru KP IPS FSV UK Diplomová práce ABSTRACT The thesis deals with the topic of electoral engineering and electoral design in the Post- Yugoslav area. It can be classified within social sciences as a part of political science, specifically as a part of comparative political science and electoral studies. The subject of this thesis is electoral design and electoral engineering. Its cases are political and electoral systems in the Post-Yugoslav area up to 2012. The importance of this topic consists in the fact that it is not entirely explored topic. On that account it deserves attention from both empirical and theoretical perspective. The research of electoral design and electoral engineering is one of the most promising courses of contemporary political science. The Post-Yugoslav area offers an ideal environment for comparative political science in general and comparative approach due to its common historical and institutional grounds, but different political and institutional development after the disintegration. The primary objective of this work is the comparison of electoral design and electoral engineering in the Post-Yugoslav area. An important component of this work is also original and comprehensive theoretical framework for a...

Le système électoral fait de plus en plus objet de débats et de discussions au Canada et ailleurs dans le monde. Bien qu’il existe de nombreuses études sur les avantages et les inconvénients des différents systèmes électoraux, très peu d’entre elles examinent les préférences des citoyens concernant les modes de scrutin et plus particulièrement la façon dont les individus expriment leur choix sur le bulletin de vote. Dans le cadre de ce mémoire, je m’attarde aux questions suivantes : quelle façon de voter les citoyens préfèrent-ils et pourquoi ? Afin de répondre à ces questions, j'ai mené une expérience en laboratoire avec près de 200 participants dans le cadre des élections fédérales canadiennes de 2019. Les participants furent invités à voter dans une série d'élections en utilisant chacune des trois façons de voter suivantes en ordre aléatoire : scrutin à vote unique, vote par approbation et vote par rangement. Après chaque vote, les participants furent informés du résultat électoral dans leur groupe et interrogés sur leur niveau de satisfaction à l'égard de chaque façon de voter. Les résultats démontrent que les citoyens préfèrent avoir la possibilité de classer les partis plutôt que d'utiliser un scrutin à vote unique ou un vote par approbation. Les individus sont également plus susceptibles d’aimer un mode scrutin lorsqu'ils sont satisfaits des résultats de l’élection. / Debates over which electoral system would best serve the general public are on the rise in Canada and in other democratic countries. Although there exists a rich literature on the benefits and shortcomings of different electoral systems, very few studies examine citizens’ preferences regarding voting rules and the ways in which individuals can cast their vote. In this paper, I address the following questions: What voting rules do citizens prefer and why? To address these questions, I conducted a within-subject laboratory experiment with nearly 200 participants in the run up to the 2019 Canadian federal election. Participants were asked to vote in a set of elections using each of the three following types of ballots in random order: one-mark ballot, approval voting and ranked voting. After each vote, participants were informed of the election results and asked about their level of satisfaction with each voting system. The results show that citizens prefer having the option to rank order the parties rather than using a one-mark ballot or approval voting. Individuals are also more likely to favour voting rules when they are satisfied with the results of the election.

Electoral systems have an enormous importance on how political power is distributed, on governability and the dynamics of representation of any given democratic society. Political science has traditionally considered electoral systems to be stable institutions and has paid more attention to understand how political parties adapt to the electoral rules than to how “electoral institutions themselves are adapted by political parties” (Benoit 2004). However, given their importance, unveiling the factors that influence the change and the choice of electoral rules is crucial and an increasing number of studies has addressed the issue since the 1990s. <p>This dissertation lies at the crossroads between traditional explanations of the stability of electoral systems and the more recent interpretations of electoral system change. Through three empirical parts, this thesis shows how these literatures are reconcilable and complementary. This study encompasses a comprehensive set of explicative factors at the micro, meso and macro levels that shed light on the incentives and barriers to reform electoral systems. Methodologically, the large-N approach of this thesis goes beyond the usual case studies and small-N analyses that characterize the field of electoral system change. Besides, the consideration of cases of reforms and cases of stability contributes to a better understanding of the determinants of electoral system change. While traditional accounts of electoral system change are predominantly based on political parties’ self-interest, this study demonstrates that the context matters. In this regard, this dissertation has three main findings. <p>Firstly, this study calls into question the body of literature addressing the change of electoral institutions by analyzing the impact of different barriers in the success of reform debates. At the party level, it shows how intraparty division can constitute an important factor to explain institutional inertia. The analysis is based on the responses of Irish Members of Parliament (Teachtaí Dala, or TDs) to a number of survey items designed to measure their evaluations of the current electoral system. The study discusses how the heterogeneity of preferences within parties over this issue may act as a barrier for reform. Besides, at the micro level, it sheds light on the determinants of individuals’ incentives to support reform. Beyond the classical power-seeking motivations, individual legislators also appear to be driven by values and attitudes about the quality of democracy.<p>Secondly, this thesis focuses on institutional contexts. This study analyzes the capacity of institutions to deter reforms using empirical evidence of the occurrence of reforms and the duration of electoral systems in 17 European countries. Drawing on Lijphart’s framework of the patterns of democracy, this research analyzes the extent to which the elements that differentiate between majoritarian and consensus democracies can hinder electoral reforms. On the one hand, it shows the impact of individual institutions on the occurrence of reform and the duration of electoral systems. It demonstrates that higher numbers of veto players, more proportional electoral systems, limited vested interests of the incumbent parties, constitutional rigidity and the existence of judicial review can reduce the likelihood of reform. On the other hand, this study demonstrates that the different combinations of institutional elements provide important explanatory leverage on the duration of electoral systems. In this regard, contrary to what is often assumed, it is shown that the occurrence of electoral reforms is linked to the incumbents’ capacity to develop their preferred policies. Those systems in which power is more concentrated, that is majoritarian systems, appear to be those in which electoral systems reforms are more frequent. <p>Finally, the thesis explores the impact of external shocks on the likelihood of reform. On the basis of an analysis of a dataset of electoral reforms that have been enacted in Europe since 1945, this study demonstrates that economic crises and citizens’ dissatisfaction with democracy are related to the introduction of electoral reforms. However, the mechanism is mediated by the existence of new parties that capitalize on this dissatisfaction and that can threaten the established parties. In these circumstances, restrictive reforms – those that aim at hindering the entry of new parties - are more likely to be introduced, though too late to prevent the entry of these newcomers.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The results in previous studies indicate that the electoral system plays an important role in women's political representation. Some researchers believe that the proportional electoral system contributes to more representation of women than the majority electoral system. The proportional electoral system is considered to be the most important factor explaining the cross-border differences in women's political representation.  The aim of my research is to test whether similar results to those shown in previous studies will occur when using another method. To fulfill this purpose, I answer the following questions:Can electoral factors explain the variation in women's political representation in the democratic countries of Africa? Is there any indication that other factors are important, if so, which ones?  In this research, different factors are used as the theoretical framework and starting point. After a theoretical review, the previous studies used to explain the underrepresentation of women in politics are introduced. The results from the previous studies are then compared to the results shown in this research to see if they can explain the variation in women's representation within the democratic countries in Africa.  This study is a comparative and employs most similar system design (MSSD). The table analysis is used as a method to analyse the collected data. Consequently, the results from the previous studies are used to analyse whether the same results on the electoral system also occur in democratic countries in Africa.  The findings show that countries with proportional electoral systems have a higher proportion of women in parliament compared to countries with a majority or mixed electoral system. However, the results also show that when compared with Catholic and Anglican countries, Protestant countries have a higher percentage of women in the national parliament. The explanation for this may be since the Catholic church is more associated with a hierarchical and authoritarian culture. The results in this study also indicate that the use of gender quotas is one of the factors that affect the women's political representation, which is consistent with the results shown in previous studies.

本論文從轉型理論與大眾動員理論來探討蒙古與台灣在民主轉型時期其影響選舉制度與憲政制度的因素。其中，將選舉制度進一步區分為總統選舉制度和國會選舉制度，以了解政治菁英間的互動與社會運動此兩個自變項的影響力。在民主鞏固時期，本論文則聚焦在影響兩國採取不同憲政體制的因素，欲探討政治菁英改革的動機與當時政治脈絡如何促使蒙古採用總理總統制，如何使得台灣採用總統議會制。此外，社會運動對當時政治菁英是否亦發揮一定程度的作用，是否提升或阻礙憲政的改革，亦是本研究探討重點之一。 本研究指出兩國在民主轉型時期，既有統治菁英在民主改革的壓力下，開始與反對運動菁英協商，既有的政治菁英有較大的決定權。政治菁英之間的互動是政治改革的重要推進力量，而下面的大衆抗議社會運動則提供了這些菁英之間達成協商的條件，其導致憲政改革或選舉制度改革。在憲政制度上，除了既有憲政遺緒與政治文化外，政治菁英間的不同偏好，亦影響兩國憲政體制的發展。在蒙古，制度的遺續應使得憲政體制傾向於總統制，但大多數菁英偏好權力較為分散的議會制，在政治協商下，最後促成半總統制的施行。在台灣，保守派政治菁英與改革派政治菁英的互動促成半總統制的影響，不過，也存在相關程度上的社會運動間接影響。 在民主鞏固時期台灣和蒙古皆是由政治菁英主導修憲，其中政治菁英間的互動主要影響憲政體制的設計，取得總統職位的民進黨和掌握立法院多數的國民黨政治菁英間的互動因素使得台灣偏向總統議會制，而掌握國會多數的民主黨和反對勢力人革黨政治菁英互動使得蒙古採用總理總統制。然而，公民社會對憲政體制設計並沒有直接的影響，但兩國的公民社會對於新生民主體制的鞏固扮演著重要角色。 綜言之，本研究所論有關政治菁英的互動與公民社會回顧如何影響選舉制度與憲政制度的設計，由於蒙古和台灣的經驗來看，大抵可了解政治菁英的改革動機與社會運動的壓力，是特定選舉制度與憲政制度被建立的重要關鍵。 / In this dissertation, the theory of transition and mass mobilization trying to explore different factors between Mongolia and Taiwan in the period of democratic transition and its impact on the electoral system and constitutional system. The electoral system will be further divided into presidential and parliamentary, to understand the interaction of political elites, the social movements, and their influence on the electoral and constitutional systems. Then, this dissertation will focus on the factors of democratic consolidation, affecting Mongolia and Taiwan to develop into a different constitutional system, the political elite reform motivation and how the political context promoted the premier-presidentialism in Mongolia, and how Taiwan acquired the president-parliamentarism. Moreover, to understand whether social movements played a certain degree of influence on the political elites, or whether they enhanced or hindered the constitutional reform is also one of the priorities of this investigation research. The dissertation also pointed out the ruling elite under the pressure of democratic reform, when they began negotiations with the opposition movement elites, they had greater discretion. The interaction among the political elite was an important force to promote political reform, and the following Mongolia public protest social movement created the conditions to reach consensus among these elites, which led to constitutional reforms or the reform of electoral systems. On the constitutional system, in addition to the existing constitutional legacy of the political culture, the different preferences among the political elites, but also affect the development of the two countries constitutional system. In Mongolia, institutional legacy made constitutional system tend to presidentialism, however most of the political elites prefer a more decentralized parliamentary system, in political consultations finally led to the implementation of semi-presidentialism. In Taiwan, the interaction with the conservative and the reformist political elite contributed to the impact of semi-presidentialism, however, there are indirect effects on the relevance of social movements either. The period of democratic consolidation in Taiwan and Mongolia was dominated by the political elites on constitutional system, the interaction among the political elites mainly affected the establishment of the constitutional system. The DPP won the presidency and the KMT the parliamentary majority, and the interaction of these political elites tend to shape Taiwan’s president-parliamentarism. In Mongolia, the Democratic Party political elite, with parliamentary majority, and the opposition MPRP political elite interaction evolved to premier-presidentialism. Although civil society had no direct impact on the constitutional system establishment, however, the development of civil society in Taiwan and Mongolia played an important role to consolidate the nascent democratic institutions. In conclusion, from Mongolian and Taiwan experience, we can understand that the motivation for the reforms of the political elite and the social movement pressure are the key for a particular electoral and constitutional system to be established.

This research is an enquiry to find an electoral formula that conforms to Canadian constitutional values. Three core values that are pertinent to the issue of electoral systems are identified: democracy, diversity, and efficiency. Each of these core values is divided into different aspects. These aspects will form the backbone of the evaluation of different electoral systems in this work. I will begin with an evaluation of the plurality model of elections, which is currently used in Canada. I will demonstrate that many of the attributes of the current system are not in tune with Canadian constitutional values, in particular with the progressive interpretation that the Supreme Court of Canada has given to the right to vote as enshrined in Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Although the interpretation of the right to vote will be the main thrust of the constitutional scrutiny in this work, attention will also be given to other pertinent rights such as equality rights, minority rights, and the freedom of expression. Next, I will examine provincial electoral reform initiatives that were initiated in five Canadian provinces. All of these initiatives - three of which were put to referenda and eventually defeated - proposed adopting a variant of proportional representation. Accordingly, I will evaluate proportional systems according to the intended values. I will conclude that these systems have problems of their own and they also cannot strike a fine balance between competing values. In the final stage, I will make a new proposal for elections to the Canadian Parliament. First, I will demonstrate that majority systems are better candidates to attain the envisioned values. Then I will introduce a new variant of the majority model, which I call a majority-preferential two-round variant. I will demonstrate that this new variant will outperform the other variants in the attainment of values if adopted for elections to the House of Commons. Finally, I will argue that the combination of a House of Commons elected through the majority-preferential formula and a proportionally elected Senate will result in a more balanced approach to the relevant constitutional values.

Esta tesis investiga la economía política de las transferencias intergubernamentales. Se centra en los factores políticos que determinan la asignación de fondos bajo control de gobiernos centrales a las diversas regiones. El primer capítulo, contribuye a este asunto a través de un nuevo análisis de los datos del panel y una medida comprensiva de necesidades de gastos para el caso de Rusia. El segundo capítulo, desarrolla nuevas herramientas metodológicas para analizar sistemas políticos del multi-partido. Estas herramientas permiten medir a votantes cambiantes en dos dimensiones ideológicas usando datos individuales de los estudios electorales. En el tercer capítulo se utilizan las medidas de votantes cambiantes para probar teorías de las políticas distributivas para el caso de España. Este capítulo demuestra que las variables políticas son significativas en la asignación de las subvenciones del estado, y la magnitud del efecto es comparable a la de variables económicas. / This thesis investigates the political economy view of intergovernmental grants. It centers on the political factors that determine allocation of funds under the control of central governments to different regions. The first chapter contributes to this topic by a novel analysis of panel data and a comprehensive measure of expenditure "needs" for the case of Russia. The second chapter develops new methodological tools for analyzing multi-party political systems. These tools allow to measure swing voters on two "ideological" dimensions using individual survey data. In the third chapter the measures of swing voters are used to test theories of distributive politics for the case of Spain. This chapter shows that political variables are significant in the allocation of state subventions, and the magnitude of the effect is comparable to that of economic variables.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: in Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: Dr Ephias Ruhode Cape Town campus December 2013 / The use of ICTs such as computers, electronic databases and other technologies have been in use for a number of years within the public sector to organise, manage and disseminate information to the public as well as to facilitate day-to-day communication in government offices. In this context, the value of the use of ICTs has been to assist and streamline government operations. The technological development in South Africa has opened up the possibilities of the use of ICTs in the democratic and governance process. E-democracy has been defined as a tool for abandoning the representative system for one with more direct citizen engagement. This study sets out to explore the challenges of the current electoral process, and also determine the factors that could influence the adoption and diffusion of e-voting technologies within the South African context. Literature has shown that countries such as Brazil and India have successfully implemented electronic voting systems and other countries are at various piloting stages to address many challenges and problems associated with manual paper based system such as costs of physical ballot paper and other overheads, electoral delays, distribution of electoral materials, and general lack of confidence in the electoral process. It is in this context that the study also seeks to determine whether the South African electoral management body can leverage on the opportunities that e-voting presents. However, with all the benefits that e-voting presents, there are countries such Germany, the Netherlands etc. that have tried and tested e-voting systems and decided to abandon these system to go back to the manual paper ballot voting systems because of various reasons ranging from cost, security and verifiability. This research is exploratory in nature and adopts qualitative research approach and it is within the interpretivism paradigm. Survey and interview strategies were used to collect data. A purposive sampling method was used to select the participants for the survey. To gain an understanding of the views of voters and electoral management body (IEC) about the current electoral process and e-voting technologies, literature was explored, a questionnaire was distributed online to voters and an in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted with the IEC. The study targeted voters who had access to the internet since the survey questionnaire was distributed online. The analysis is based on thematic analysis and diffusion of innovation (DoI) theory was also used to provide an analytical framework for the study. Through this framework the aims and objectives of the study were conceptualized around three constructs from the theory (relative advantage, compatibility and complexity). The findings of the study revealed that the three constructs from the DoI framework are important factors that may influence the adoption process of e-voting technologies. The findings also revealed other factors such as availability of ICT enable infrastructure and resources, digital divide, trust in technology, awareness of the technology and environment could that also influence the adoption process. The contributions of this research are anticipated to be a better understanding of the adoption of e-voting technologies in South Africa. For the electoral management bodies, the contribution of this research is that the research to some extent portrays factors that could influence the adoption of e-voting technologies in South Africa. Therefore, findings such as availability of ICT infrastructure and accessibility of these infrastructures should be taken into consideration before introducing e-voting technologies. Keywords: DoI (diffusion of Innovation), e-voting (electronic voting) technologies, E-governance, e-participation.

This research is an enquiry to find an electoral formula that conforms to Canadian constitutional values. Three core values that are pertinent to the issue of electoral systems are identified: democracy, diversity, and efficiency. Each of these core values is divided into different aspects. These aspects will form the backbone of the evaluation of different electoral systems in this work. I will begin with an evaluation of the plurality model of elections, which is currently used in Canada. I will demonstrate that many of the attributes of the current system are not in tune with Canadian constitutional values, in particular with the progressive interpretation that the Supreme Court of Canada has given to the right to vote as enshrined in Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Although the interpretation of the right to vote will be the main thrust of the constitutional scrutiny in this work, attention will also be given to other pertinent rights such as equality rights, minority rights, and the freedom of expression. Next, I will examine provincial electoral reform initiatives that were initiated in five Canadian provinces. All of these initiatives - three of which were put to referenda and eventually defeated - proposed adopting a variant of proportional representation. Accordingly, I will evaluate proportional systems according to the intended values. I will conclude that these systems have problems of their own and they also cannot strike a fine balance between competing values. In the final stage, I will make a new proposal for elections to the Canadian Parliament. First, I will demonstrate that majority systems are better candidates to attain the envisioned values. Then I will introduce a new variant of the majority model, which I call a majority-preferential two-round variant. I will demonstrate that this new variant will outperform the other variants in the attainment of values if adopted for elections to the House of Commons. Finally, I will argue that the combination of a House of Commons elected through the majority-preferential formula and a proportionally elected Senate will result in a more balanced approach to the relevant constitutional values.

Les révolutions de l’Est ont induit la fragmentation des Etats qui s’est accompagnée, sur le plan interne par une renaissance des partis ethniques ; ce qui ne va pas sans poser de problèmes à la démocratie politique. Les transitions et a fortiori les consolidations démocratiques font émerger un double phénomène d’interaction entre les acteurs et le système, dans la recherche d’un nouvel équilibre. Les partis ethniques se politisent alors que le système s’ouvre à l’acteur ethnique. On assiste donc à un réajustement évolutif du système devant la nouvelle donne. Le système s’ouvre aux nouvelles demandes à caractère ethnique de différentes façons et à différents degrés : entre la légalisation et la tolérance. Côté acteurs, les partis ethniques rentrent progressivement dans le jeu politique ; de différentes façons et à différents degrés. Dans notre champ problématique les relations interactives se déploient entre acteurs multi-niveaux (partis-Etats) et dans les divers champs (politique, sociétal et juridique). Leurs connexions sont croisées entre l’espace étatique et internationale, public et civil, politique et sociétal ; avec les Etats d’accueil ou d’origine, mais aussi, les Etats-tiers. Ils sont à velléités indépendantistes ou simplement des lobbies politiques. Nous avons essayé de mettre en lumière les principaux aspects de la complexité de la question ethnique dans les jeunes démocraties politiques ‘‘en consolidation’’. La problématique ethnique des PECO peut-elle nous aider à compléter en actualisant certaines visions généralistes des sciences politiques ? Les acteurs impliqués sont ainsi invités à éviter les pièges des nationalismes perçus comme ‘‘mesquins’’, voire ‘‘chaotiques’’ tout en servant la cause d’une plus souple intégration politique alias la ‘‘paix démocratique’’. / The revolutions of Eastern induced fragmentation of States were accompanied internally by a revival of ethnic parties, which is not without its problems in political democracy. Transitions and even more democratic consolidation are emerging a double phenomenon of interaction between actors and the system in search of a new equilibrium. Ethnic parties then politicize the system opens the ethnic actor. We are witnessing an evolutionary adjustment of the system to the new situation. The system opens to the new demands ethnic ways and to different degrees: between legalization and tolerance. Side actors, are gradually returning ethnic parties in the political game, in different ways and to different degrees. In our problem the field deploy interactive relationships between multi-level actors (parties-States) and in the various fields (political, societal and legal). Their connections are crossed between the State and international space, public and civil, political and social, with host countries or origin, but also the third States. They are separatist ambitions or simply political lobbies. We tried to highlight the main aspects of the complexity of the ethnic issue in young democracies political '' in consolidation ''. The ethnic problem of CEEC can help us to complete updating some general visions of political science? The actors involved are invited to avoid the pitfalls of nationalism perceived as '' petty '' or '' chaotic '' while serving the cause of a more flexible policy integration to the ‘‘democratic peace’’.