Political Institutions: Democracy and Social ChoiceThe role of institutions is to establish the domains of public activity and the rules to select leaders. Democratic regimes organize in simple institutional frameworks to foster the concentration of power and alternative successive absolute winners and losers. They favour political satisfaction of relatively small groups, as well as policy instability. In contrast, pluralistic institutions produce multiple winners, including multiparty co-operation and agreements. They favour stable, moderate, and consensual policies that can satisfy large groups' interests on a great number of issues. The more complex the political institutions, the more stable and socially efficient the outcome will be. This book develops an extensive analysis of this relationship. It explores concepts, questions and insights based on social choice theory, while empirical focus is cast on more than 40 democratic countries and a few international organizations from late medieval times to the present. The book argues that pluralistic democratic institutions are judged to be better than simple formula of their higher capacity of producing socially satisfactory results. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
19th century 20th century absolute majority alternative Argentina Assembly bicameralism Brazil Cabinet candidates cantons center-right central government centrist Christian-Democrats Christians citizens colonies Communists concurrent elections Congress constitutional contrast corresponding Council countries decisions democracies discussed districts divided government division of powers electoral rules electoral system enfranchisement established European European Union favor federal formulas France French Fifth Republic French Fourth Republic Germany groups incumbent initially interinstitutional issues leaders legislative Liberals losers majoritarian majority rule majority-runoff median voter's minority multiparty coalitions nonconcurrent elections obtained outcomes Parliament parliamentary regimes period pluralistic plurality rule political parties popular votes preferences Premier President presidential elections presidential regimes previously procedure produce proportional representation re-election reforms regional relatively Republic Republicans seats semi-presidential separate elections single-party social choice social choice theory social utility Socialists socially efficient strategies unanimity rule unified government United Kingdom universal suffrage veto voters voting rights women women's suffrage