A Theory of Parties and Electoral Systems

by Richard S. Katz

Overview

Winner, George H. Hallett Award, 1998, Representation and Electoral Systems Organized Section of the American Political Science Association

Political parties and elections are the mainsprings of modern democracy. In this classic volume, Richard S. Katz explores the problem of how a given electoral system affects the role of political parties and the way in which party members are elected. He develops and tests a theory of the differences in the cohesion, ideological behavior, and issue orientation of Western parliamentary parties on the basis of the electoral systems under which they compete. A standard in the field of political theory and thought, The Theory of Parties and the Electoral System contributes to a better understanding of parliamentary party structures and demonstrates the wide utility of the rationalistic approach for explaining behavior derived from the self-interest of political actors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421403212
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	168
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard S. Katz is a professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author, coauthor, or coeditor of several books, including Political Institutions in the United States; Party Governments: European and American Experiences; The Patron State: Government and the Arts in Europe, North America, and Japan; and Handbook of Party Politics. He is also coeditor of the European Journal of Political Research.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Parties, Elections, and Democracy
2. Electoral Law
3. An Extensive Test
4. An Intensive Test: Electoral Experience
5. An Intensive Test: Campaign and Nomination
6. An Intensive Test: Verification
7. Concluding Remarks
Appendix A: Sampling
Appendix B: Questionnaire
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

Analytical, careful, and scholarly . . . it makes an important contribution to theory-building about political parties.
—Journal of Politics

This short, well-written comparative treatise deals with the causal relations between electoral structures on one hand and party and campaign behavior on the other.
—Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

From the Publisher

This short, well-written comparative treatise deals with the causal relations between electoral structures on one hand and party and campaign behavior on the other.

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Analytical, careful, and scholarly . . . it makes an important contribution to theory-building about political parties.

Journal of Politics