Publikacja:

The Tailor of Marrakech: Western Electoral Systems Advice to Emerging Democracies

Data

2025
Artykuł
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cris.virtualsource.journalancec5e604c2-f6bd-4f19-914c-e01c8ff3c6c3
dc.abstract.enThe article explores the challenges of providing Western electoral system advice to emerging democracies, drawing on experiences of Estonia and Poland in the format of a historical recollection of attempted electoral reforms and electoral engineering. It proposes a tentative five-phase sequence of attitudes toward foreign advice: initial acceptance of pre-existing rules, recognition of the need for reforms, attempts to reinvent electoral systems, eager adoption of foreign advice, and eventual reliance on local expertise with selective use of external input. Using Estonia as a case study, Taagepera details his role in introducing electoral system options during the transition from Soviet rule, highlighting the shift from external influence to local politicking. Kaminski contrasts this with Poland, where the absence of expert electoral advice during the 1989 Round Table negotiations inadvertently facilitated Solidarity’s victory, underscoring the impact of electoral ignorance. The article assesses the validity of Western advice, focusing on proportionality, government stability, and party constellations, and advocates for simple, stable electoral rules in emerging democracies. They conclude that while a science of electoral systems is developing, its applicability to unstable democracies remains limited, and feedback from these contexts offers modest insights into established electoral theories, such as Duverger’s law.
dc.abstract.plThe article explores the challenges of providing Western electoral system advice to emerging democracies, drawing on experiences of Estonia and Poland in the format of a historical recollection of attempted electoral reforms and electoral engineering. It proposes a tentative five-phase sequence of attitudes toward foreign advice: initial acceptance of pre-existing rules, recognition of the need for reforms, attempts to reinvent electoral systems, eager adoption of foreign advice, and eventual reliance on local expertise with selective use of external input. Using Estonia as a case study, Taagepera details his role in introducing electoral system options during the transition from Soviet rule, highlighting the shift from external influence to local politicking. Kaminski contrasts this with Poland, where the absence of expert electoral advice during the 1989 Round Table negotiations inadvertently facilitated Solidarity’s victory, underscoring the impact of electoral ignorance. The article assesses the validity of Western advice, focusing on proportionality, government stability, and party constellations, and advocates for simple, stable electoral rules in emerging democracies. They conclude that while a science of electoral systems is developing, its applicability to unstable democracies remains limited, and feedback from these contexts offers modest insights into established electoral theories, such as Duverger’s law.
dc.contributor.authorRein Taagepera
dc.contributor.authorMarek M. Kaminski
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-23T14:29:08Z
dc.date.available2025-09-23T14:29:08Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstract
dc.description.issue1
dc.description.volume37
dc.identifier.affiliationUniversity of California
dc.identifier.affiliationUniversity of California
dc.identifier.doi10.7206/cid.3071-7973.6
dc.identifier.orcid#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0003-3997-0541
dc.identifier.urihttps://repozytorium.kozminski.edu.pl/handle/item/3731
dc.languageen
dc.publisherKozminski University
dc.relation.ispartofCollective and Individual Decisions
dc.relation.issn3071-7973
dc.relation.pages1-20
dc.subject.enelectoral systems
dc.subject.enemerging democracies
dc.subject.enelectoral engineering
dc.subject.enproportional representation
dc.subject.enparty fragmentation
dc.subject.enfall of communism
dc.subject.plelectoral systems
dc.subject.plemerging democracies
dc.subject.plelectoral engineering
dc.subject.plproportional representation
dc.subject.plparty fragmentation
dc.subject.plfall of communism
dc.subtypeOriginal
dc.title

The Tailor of Marrakech: Western Electoral Systems Advice to Emerging Democracies

dc.typeArticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.volume37