Rasprava o izborima i izbornim sustavima zapravo je rasprava o tome kakvi mogu biti učinci predstavništva u demokratskim političkim sustavima. Razumijevanje te poveznice nije moguće bez poznavanja tehničkih detalja od kojih su satkani izborni sustavi. Unatoč nepostojanju općeprihvatljivoga pojmovnog okvira i postojanju kompleksnosti različitih definicijskih pristupa i interpretacijskih polazišta, i o izborima i o izbornim sustavima, postignuto je suglasje o tome da se izbori vežu uz predstavničku demokraciju te da predstavljaju njezinu središnju instituciju, a da izborni sustavi predstavljaju načine na koje birači mogu izraziti svoje preferencije kroz glasove, te mogućnosti kako se ti glasovi mogu pretvoriti u zastupničke mandate. Kakvu izbornu strategiju, uobličenu u izbornom modelu, primijeniti? Kako kombinirati strukturne elemente izbornih sustava da bi se postigli priželjkivani politički učinci? Pitanja su na koje odgovor može dati samo dobro poznavanje složene izborne problematike koja je u dodiru s ukupnim krajolikom političkog: institucijama, procesima i sadržajima. ; Discussion about elections and electoral systems is in fact discussion about the effects of representative bodies in democratic political systems. Understanding of that link is not possible without knowing technical details used for forming electoral systems. Despite nonexistence of generally accepted conceptual framework and complexity of different definition approaches and interpretation bases of both elections and electoral systems, there is an agreement that elections are related to representative democracy and they represent its central institution, while electoral systems represent the ways in which voters can express their preferences through their votes and possibilities how those voices can be turned into representative mandates. Which elections strategy, formed in electoral model, should be applied? How to combine structural elements of electoral systems in order to achieve hoped-for political effects? Those are the question which could be answered only by good knowledge of the complex electoral problem area which is in contact with total political landscape: institutions, processes and contents.
Rad se bavi istraživanjem učinaka personalizacije izbornog sustava prije svega na političke stranke i kandidate za zastupnike. Pod personalizacijom izbornog sustava smatra se uvođenje mehanizama u izborni sustav koji osiguravaju veću ulogu birača u izboru njihovih parlamentarnih zastupnika. U radu su predstavljene četiri gusto opisane studije slučaja koje su služile kao temelj za testiranje temeljne i pomoćnih hipoteza. Rad sadrži fokusiranu poredbenu analizu dometa personalizacije izbornog sustava u odnosu na tri ključna slučaja (Austrija, Nizozemska i Finska), kao i u odnosu na kontrolni slučaj Kosovo. U radu je dokazano da snažni personalizirani izborni sustavi, koji imaju najveće vrijednosti personalizacije, odnosno izmjerene vrijednosti utjecaja dva institucionalna potičuća mehanizma koji su predstavljali nezavisne varijable ovog istraživanja (a. preferencijsko glasovanje unutar razmjernog sustava stranačkih lista i b. procedura selekcije kandidata), dovode do personalizacije političkih stranaka na razini zastupnika. Kroz dokazivanje pomoćnih hipoteza ispraćeni su učinci personalizacije izbornog sustava na političke stranke, kandidate/zastupnike, birače odnosno stranački/politički sustav. U radu predstavljeni nalazi fokusirane poredbene analize potvrđuju da snažna personalizacija izbornog sustava vodi personalizaciji izborne kampanje te smanjenoj ulozi političkih stranaka u političkom životu. Smanjena uloga stranaka u kampanjama otvara prostor jačanju uloge konkretnih donatora. Poslanici postaju nezavisniji u odnosu na stranku, ali s druge strane otvoreni za utjecaje donatora svojih kampanja. Nemogućnost opoziva, odnosno tekovina da je zastupnik, a ne stranka vlasnik mandata, dodatno ojačava poziciju zastupnika, a slabi poziciju stranke. Pozicija zastupnika jača, kao i birača koji imaju u snažno personaliziranim izbornim sustavima mogućnost presudnog utjecanja na to tko će ih zastupati u parlamentu, odnosno na koga će privremeno prenijeti suverenitet kao njegovi nositelji. Finski primjer najbolje pokazuje utjecaj snažne personalizacije izbornog sustava na političke stranke, kandidate i birače u konsolidiranoj demokraciji. Slučaj Kosova kao kontrolni slučaj govori da ukoliko izostane prevlast osobnog u odnosu na stranačko u unutarstranačkim procesima, učinci snažnog preferencijskog sustava bit će umanjeni. Izostanak vladavine prava utječe na ravnopravnost kandidata u predizbornim kampanjama, ali snažno preferencijsko glasovanje umanjuje negativne efekte izostanka demokratskih procedura unutar stranke te potiče daljnju demokratsku konsolidaciju u nekonsolidiranim demokracijama. ; The doctoral dissertation deals with research into the effects of personalization of the electoral system primarily on political parties and candidates for deputies. The personalization of the electoral system means the introduction of mechanisms in the electoral system that ensure a greater role for voters in the election of their parliamentary representatives. I define the electoral system as a "set of laws and party rules governing electoral competition between and within the parties" (Cox 1997: 38). This wider definition of the electoral system gives us space to build a more complete picture of the electoral system's impact on political parties, candidates and voters as main actors in the electoral process. The focus of the research is the relationship between personal and party representation. In order to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of the effects of personalization on political parties, the research framework is narrowed down to list proportional electoral systems with preferential voting. Contemporary liberal democracy is characterized by a highly personalized politics. Governments are more recognizable by their leaders than by the parties that are the basis of their constitution. This personalization trend is not characteristic exclusively of presidential systems, but has become a feature of parliamentary political systems. In addition to personalization of the party at the leader level, there is also the personalization of politics at the level of members of parliament (MPs). In this paper, we only use the term 'personalization of a party' in reference to personalization at the level of the MP. We will not deal with the question of the presidentialization of political parties. Under the personalization of a political party at the level of MPs, we mean strengthening the position of deputies in the intra-party decision-making process. Thanks to the introduction of preferential voting in list proportional list systems, the group of electoral systems in which voters play an important role in the selection of their representatives has significantly expanded. Historically speaking, the representative position has been strengthened by the accepted attitude that the MP, not the party, is the 'owner of the mandate'; preferential voting supports this. This paper deals with the personalization of politics at the level of the representative—the political party. That is to say, it explores the question of to what degree personalization of the electoral system affects the political party, its intra- and its inter-party dimension. Moreover, the paper deals with personal and party representation, an area that is a new field of interest for political scientists. Through this relationship, I explore the effect of electoral systems on political parties, candidates and voters. in developing this work, I was guided by the results achieved by Katz (1980, 1986) and Marsh 9 (1985) who first dealt with this issue. In his book A Theory of Parties and Electoral Systems (1980), Katz took his first steps in the research of preferential systems. Five years later, Marsh (1985) was dealing with differences between the preferential systems in Europe. In their works, Katz and Marsh set forth the first hypotheses about the effects of preferential voting. Although there has been a growing interest in research in this area over the last decade, no significant progress has yet been made. Karvonen (2004) made a significant step in systematizing the hypotheses of Katz and Marsh, and he added some more points. In his last paper on this subject (2011), Karvonen was working within the same group of hypotheses, which were open to further research. They are the basis of this research, with additional contributions. A major impetus for this work was one of the most influential articles in this field, 'Incentives to Cultivate a Personal Vote: A Rank Ordering of Electoral Formulas' by Carey and Shugart (1995), which examines the question of the influence of electoral systems on the candidate's electoral strategies—that is, how electoral systems influence the pre-election roles of parties and their candidates. The authors developed three variables: (1) lack of party leadership control over access to and rank in ballots; (2) degree to which candidates are elected on individual votes independent of copartisans; and (3) whether voters cast a single intra-party vote instead of multiple votes or a party-level vote. By combining these three variables, there are up to thirteen combinations. This approach set me up to explore the impact that personalization creates when it comes to the relationship between the MP candidate and the party, or the MP and the party. Most authors agree that the introduction of personalization of the electoral system significantly affects interparty relations, which are sometimes reflected in a high degree of autonomy in campaigning and even in the collection and spending of funds for funding of their personal campaign. The bidding of candidates from the same party exercises a strong influence on intra-party relations, and it often happens that rival relations within the parties remain in the shadow of rival relations between the parties.
The authors analyze the constitutional position of the Polish parliament after the democratic revolution of 1989, as well as its internal political dynamics. The parliament has two houses, endowed with different constitutional competences: Sejm (lower House) & Senate (upper House). The 460 members of the Sejm were elected in three electoral cycles (1989, 1991, & 1993) by means of majority & a proportional electoral system with various prohibitive clauses, while the 100 senators were elected by the majority electoral system. The changes in the electoral rules resulted in the altered parliamentary party system. While in the "contractual" Sejim, the seats (in accordance with a political agreement) were divided between the ruling communist bloc & the oppositional "Solidarity," the first freely elected Sejm had an extremely fragmented party structure, with 28 parties, while the second Sejm is moderately pluralist, with two parties of the government coalition & four opposition parties. The most remarkable feature of Polish political culture is an increasing professionalization of the parliament members as well as a growing political apathy of the general public & a meager turnout at the polls. 4 Tables, 19 References. Adapted from the source document.
Summary Combined electoral systems were in expansion at the end of the 20th century and thus some authors considered them to be the electoral model for the future. Accordingly, there has been an increasing number of academic attempts to define and conceptualise these complex electoral systems. So far, two major interpretative streams emerged: structural (or mechanical) which is linked with Canadian scholars of election studies A. Blais and L. Massicotte, and the outcome-approach, largely developed by American scholars M.S. Shugart and P.M. Wattenberg. However, there is still much to add to these two interpretations. The author argues that a combined electoral system is specific for its combining of two elements: 1) the elections are based on two different levels of voting and of distribution of seats (name-based and list-based) and 2) they develop a specific model of voting -- with two votes per each voter (one for an individual candidate and the other for a list). When combined, these two elements create institutional setting for electoral competition, and thus the candidates and the parties are requested to develop more complex electoral strategies than in other types of electoral systems. Adapted from the source document.
The author deals with the problem of segmented or "entrenched" electoral systems, which are relatively less known & rarely applied in the electoral practice of democratic states. However, in the postcommunist states of Eastern Europe they have come to the forefront. Their main purpose is to combine the principles of the majority & the plurality systems & to highlight the advantages & mitigate the shortcomings of both. The main finding of the research is that there are no universal models & parliamentary party systems. Segmented systems have in some countries produced the effects of majority & in others of plurality systems. The institutional factors causing those differences cannot be positively established. 3 Tables, 19 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author discusses the political effects of Hungarian electoral law on the formation of the Hungarian parliament. Although the makers of the new electoral law argued that the democratic legislative body should widely & justly represent all interests, points of view, & opinions of the electoral body, electoral law only partly stimulates proportionality. The disproportionate effects of the Hungarian electoral law (system) have been caused, according to the author, by several elements: namely, the prohibitive clause, the application of the electoral number procedure (the Hagenbach-Bischoff method & the Hare method), the two-thirds rule for the distribution of the remaining mandates, & the size of the electoral districts. In the 1990 parliamentary elections, the combined electoral system (that fuses electoral systems belonging to two different types -- the majority & the proportional system) achieved one of its basic political aims; it made great party fragmentation on the parliamentary level impossible, although a comparatively large number of political parties participated in the electoral process. One of the first effects of Hungarian electoral law on the formation of the Hungarian parliament was a reduction of multiparliamentarism. 8 Tables, 33 References. Adapted from the source document.
Demokracija se obično shvaća kao organizirani oblik vlasti koji karakterizira vladavina naroda. Velik broj građana vjeruje u demokraciju kao najpoželjniji oblik vlasti. S druge pak strane, sve je više prisutno nezadovoljstvo građana, razočarenje u demokratske institucije i sve manje povjerenje u izabranu vlast. Kroz ovaj rad nastojala se dati šira slika ovog problema te ukazati na teoretske probleme demokracije, ali i one u stvarnim demokratskim sustavima. Teoretski temelji rada osnivaju se na radovima teoretičara kao što su Robert Dahl, David Held i Joseph Schumpeter. Nedostaci demokracije, ali i njen potencijalni novi smjer prikazan je kroz primjere Turske i Katalonije. Jednakim demokratskim mehanizmom, a s potpuno različitim interesima i Turska i Katalonija udaljile su se od zamišljenog demokratskog ideala te su na taj način poslužile kao koristan primjer za potkrjepljivanje iznesenih tvrdnji u cijelom radu. Ovi primjeri ukazuju i na krizu demokracije, ali i na njen novi smjer u suvremenim političkim sustavima. Demokracija možda u svojoj suštini i nije toliko loša već je problematična njena primjena u stvarnim uvjetima koji stalno zahtijevaju prilagodbu postojećem stanju, rješavanje novih prepreka i problema. ; Democracy as a broad term is usually understood as an organised form of governance characterised by the rule of people. The majority of the citizens believes in democracy to be the best possible and the most desirable form of governance. On the other hand, discontent and disappointment in the democratic institutions as well as distrust in the elected officials has been more and more prominent. The bigger picture of this problem is described throughout this thesis. The main goal was to highlight the problems with the theoretical idea of democracy but also the problems within actual democratic systems in the modern era. Theoretical foundations of this thesis are based on the works of authors like Robert Dahl, David Held and Joseph Schumpeter. Using the examples of recent political events in Turkey and ...
Demokracija se obično shvaća kao organizirani oblik vlasti koji karakterizira vladavina naroda. Velik broj građana vjeruje u demokraciju kao najpoželjniji oblik vlasti. S druge pak strane, sve je više prisutno nezadovoljstvo građana, razočarenje u demokratske institucije i sve manje povjerenje u izabranu vlast. Kroz ovaj rad nastojala se dati šira slika ovog problema te ukazati na teoretske probleme demokracije, ali i one u stvarnim demokratskim sustavima. Teoretski temelji rada osnivaju se na radovima teoretičara kao što su Robert Dahl, David Held i Joseph Schumpeter. Nedostaci demokracije, ali i njen potencijalni novi smjer prikazan je kroz primjere Turske i Katalonije. Jednakim demokratskim mehanizmom, a s potpuno različitim interesima i Turska i Katalonija udaljile su se od zamišljenog demokratskog ideala te su na taj način poslužile kao koristan primjer za potkrjepljivanje iznesenih tvrdnji u cijelom radu. Ovi primjeri ukazuju i na krizu demokracije, ali i na njen novi smjer u suvremenim političkim sustavima. Demokracija možda u svojoj suštini i nije toliko loša već je problematična njena primjena u stvarnim uvjetima koji stalno zahtijevaju prilagodbu postojećem stanju, rješavanje novih prepreka i problema. ; Democracy as a broad term is usually understood as an organised form of governance characterised by the rule of people. The majority of the citizens believes in democracy to be the best possible and the most desirable form of governance. On the other hand, discontent and disappointment in the democratic institutions as well as distrust in the elected officials has been more and more prominent. The bigger picture of this problem is described throughout this thesis. The main goal was to highlight the problems with the theoretical idea of democracy but also the problems within actual democratic systems in the modern era. Theoretical foundations of this thesis are based on the works of authors like Robert Dahl, David Held and Joseph Schumpeter. Using the examples of recent political events in Turkey and ...
What are the reasons for change of electoral system in a country in transition? Who are the actors involved and how they do that? What consequences it has for parliament and the party system? This paper attempts to provide answers to these questions in the case of Ukraine. In that country, in less than two decades three types of electoral systems have been implemented: majority system in 1994, mixed system in 1998, 2002 and 2012, and proportional system in 2006 and 2007. Such frequent changes occurred due to elite-manipulation which aimed at satisfying self-interests of political elites. Both parliamentary and non-parliamentary elites have been involved in that process, and the most important actors among them have been oligarchs and the President. When the Ukrainian oligarchs as veto-players began to intensively participate in parties' activities, parties began to play a more important role than they did before. We conclude that the type of electoral system and oligarchic influence on parties and elections impacted the way how the party system has been shaped. We show that this system has been instrumentalised to achieve particular objectives of the dominant segments of political and business elites in Ukraine. Adapted from the source document.
In stable democracies, radical electoral changes necessitating the alteration of the type of electoral system are very rare. That is why the typological electoral reforms in New Zealand, Italy, & Japan in the 1990s generated huge scientific & public interest. In all three cases, the reforms were brought about by profound political crises, primarily by the electoral system crises. The reforms were carried out according to different patterns. The New Zealand electoral reform was an expression of a highly sophisticated intellectual design of political institutions legitimized by a referendum. The Italian reform was exacted through the initiatives & actions of the political & the civilian actors & was also confirmed by a referendum. The Japanese reform was a result of a contingently exacted party arrangement. In all three cases -- to the biggest extent in Italy, & to the smallest extent in Japan -- the reforms were implemented regardless of the will of the main political parties & most politicians. 3 Tables, 56 References. Adapted from the source document.
The author explores the genesis & development of electoral systems in the states created in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The paper does a comparative analysis of the most significant components & characteristics of the electoral systems in the South Slavic states -- the highest averages methods, forms of candidature, modes of voting, levels of electoral constituency, methods of translating votes into seats & levels of a qualified suffrage. It also deals with the effects of implementation of the majority, mixed & proportional electoral systems in the mentioned group of countries during the last decade, particularly considering the representation of minority ethnic communities in their supreme legislative bodies. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.
The paper looks into the effectiveness of the application of preferential quotas for electoral posts & compares the different quota systems in the EU countries. Starting from the assumption that political parties in contemporary democracies are major actors in the representation of women in national parliaments, the author analyses the (un)favourable conditions for women in candidacy procedures & some examples of (un)successful quota implementations. The conclusion is that a successful application of the quotas for women depends on a set of additional variables such as the quota application in proportional electoral systems, the entrenchment of the quotas in women's movements & their consistent & long-term implementation. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.
One of the focuses of the study of parties at the end of the 20th century has been the organizational structure & the relations within political parties, including the nominating procedures for the selection of candidates for general elections. The manner in which parties fulfill their recruiting function &, eventually, the quality of the political & the governing elite in a "party" state directly depends on these procedures. Typologically there are differences between the nominating procedures in the US (regulated by federal laws) & those in European political parties (regulated by party documents). The author describes major forms of American pre-elections & European procedures for candidates' selection. She analyzes the nominating procedures in the Croatian legislation & the statutes of Croatian parliamentary parties. Her conclusion is that the laws on parties & the selection of candidates are entirely left to the parties whose statutes without exception envisage very centralized, exclusive & nondemocratic procedures of candidates' selection. 1 Table, 25 References. Adapted from the source document.
