What Kind of Electoral Outcome do People Think is Good for Democracy?
(2023) In Political Studies 71(4). p.1068-1089- Abstract
- There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey conducted on representative samples in 15 West European countries (N = 15,414). We implemented an original instrument to elicit respondents’ views by asking them to rate “real but blind” electoral outcomes. With this survey instrument, we aimed to elicit principled rather than partisan preferences regarding the kind of electoral outcomes that citizens think is good for democracy. We find that West Europeans do not clearly endorse a majoritarian or proportional vision of democracy. They tend to focus on aspects of... (More)
- There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey conducted on representative samples in 15 West European countries (N = 15,414). We implemented an original instrument to elicit respondents’ views by asking them to rate “real but blind” electoral outcomes. With this survey instrument, we aimed to elicit principled rather than partisan preferences regarding the kind of electoral outcomes that citizens think is good for democracy. We find that West Europeans do not clearly endorse a majoritarian or proportional vision of democracy. They tend to focus on aspects of the government rather than parliament when they pass a judgment. They want a majority government that has few parties and enjoys wide popular support. Finally, we find only small differences between citizens of different countries. (Less)
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- author
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Political Studies
- volume
- 71
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 1068 - 1089
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85118789893
- ISSN
- 0032-3217
- DOI
- 10.1177/00323217211055560
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- bae63268-4394-4daa-b17b-4139a393a1c6
- alternative location
- https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217211055560
- date added to LUP
- 2021-12-15 14:17:02
- date last changed
- 2024-01-09 15:48:10
@article{bae63268-4394-4daa-b17b-4139a393a1c6, abstract = {{There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey conducted on representative samples in 15 West European countries (N = 15,414). We implemented an original instrument to elicit respondents’ views by asking them to rate “real but blind” electoral outcomes. With this survey instrument, we aimed to elicit principled rather than partisan preferences regarding the kind of electoral outcomes that citizens think is good for democracy. We find that West Europeans do not clearly endorse a majoritarian or proportional vision of democracy. They tend to focus on aspects of the government rather than parliament when they pass a judgment. They want a majority government that has few parties and enjoys wide popular support. Finally, we find only small differences between citizens of different countries.}}, author = {{Blais, André and Bol, Damien and Bowler, Shaun and Farrell, David M and Fredén, Annika and Foucault, Martial and Heisbourg, Emmanuel and Lachat, Romain and Lago, Ignacio and Loewen, Peter John and Nemčok, Miroslav and Pilet, Jean-Benoit and Plescia, Carolina}}, issn = {{0032-3217}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{4}}, pages = {{1068--1089}}, publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}}, series = {{Political Studies}}, title = {{What Kind of Electoral Outcome do People Think is Good for Democracy?}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217211055560}}, doi = {{10.1177/00323217211055560}}, volume = {{71}}, year = {{2023}}, }