Ausweg Mehrheitswahl? Die politischen Konsequenzen eines Mehrheitswahlsystems in Osterreich

In: Osterreichische Zeitschrift fur Politikwissenschaft, Heft 1, S. 5-24

Abstract

This article contributes to the discussion about a reform of the Austrian PR electoral system and evaluates the political consequences of a (counterfactual) implementation of a plurality voting system. The arguments will be presented in four principal steps: (1) The article starts out with a review of the merits and shortcomings of majoritarian and consensus democracies so as to justify some principal yardsticks for the evaluation of real-world electoral systems. (2) The subsequent section considers the context of Austrian politics more systematically and reviews principal arguments that have been put forward for and against reform efforts. (3) The empirical part of this article systematically discusses the 'psychological effects' of a plurality system in Austria. (4) Ultimately, the mechanical effects of plurality in Austria are evaluated by counterfactual statistical simulation models. Adapted from the source document.