Review of Types of Democracies and Electoral Systems

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to different types of democracies, their electoral systems, and how they affect accountability, representation, and the functioning of governments.

Parliamentary Democracy

A system of government where the Prime Minister and Cabinet are responsible to the legislature and can be removed by a vote of no confidence.

Legislative Responsibility

The constitutional power of a legislature to remove a government without cause; not present in Presidential democracies.

Vote of No Confidence

A vote initiated by the legislature that requires the government to resign if it fails to retain a majority.

Electoral System

A set of laws regulating the competition between candidates and parties, including how votes are translated into seats.

Majority-Plurality System

A two-round system where if no candidate receives a majority in the first round, a second round is held between the top candidates.

Proportional Representation (PR)

Electoral systems where parties receive seats roughly in proportion to their share of the vote.

Single-Member District (SMD)

An electoral district that elects one representative, often leading to winner-takes-all outcomes.

Coalition Government

A government formed by multiple parties that must cooperate to maintain a majority.

Cohabitation

A situation in semi-presidential systems where the President is from one political party and the Prime Minister from another.

Decree Power

The ability of a President to issue decrees that carry the force of law, often without legislative approval.

Investment Vote

A formal vote in the legislature to determine if a proposed government has majority support.

Gamson's Law

A principle that states that cabinet portfolios will be distributed according to the number of seats each party contributes to the government.

Social Cleavages

Salient social divisions that receive organizational expression, influencing the formation of political parties.

Majoritarian Democracy

A system where majority rules dominate power and decision-making processes, generally emphasizing direct accountability.

Liberal Constraints

Limits on government power intended to protect minority rights and rule of law within a democratic framework.

Illiberal Democracy

A system that combines competitive elections with weak protections of civil liberties and institutional constraints.

Polarization

The division of political parties or groups into opposing factions, often making compromise and cooperation difficult.

Majoritarian

systems designed to produce a single winner or governing majority, often exaggerating the largest party’s seat share

Plurality

the candidate/party wins the most votes, even if it’s less than 50%

Single-Member District Plurality

one representative per district, whoever gets the most votes, wins (ex. Canada)

Single Nontransferable Vote

voters cast one vote in a multi-member district, candidates with most votes win seats

Block Vote

voters have as many votes as seats, can vote for multiple candidates, with the top candidates winning

Party Block Vote

voters choose a party list, the winning party takes all seats in a district

Borda Count

voters rank candidates, points are assigned based on ranking, the highest total wins

Modified Borda Count

variation of the Borda Count with adjusted scoring rules

Limited Vote

voters have fewer votes than available seats, allowing minority representation

TRS: Majority-Plurality

a two-round system where the second round is determined by plurality

Absolute Majority

requires a candidate to receive more than 50% of the vote

Alternative Vote

ranked choice system, lowest candidates eliminated and votes redistributed until someone gets above 50%

TRS: Majority Runoff

if no one gets majority in round 1, a second round (runoff) is held between top candidates

Proportional

systems where parties receive seats roughly proportional to their vote share

Single Transferrable Vote

voters rank candidates, and votes are transferred based on preferences to fill multiple seats

List PR

parties present list of candidates, seats are allocated proportionally based on votes

Quota

seats are allocated based on reaching a vote threshold (quota)

Haire

total votes / total seats

Hagenbach-Bischoff

slightly smaller quota than Hare, increases chance of seat allocation

Droop

most common quota, ensures no more candidates can reach quota than available seats

Imperiali

even smaller quota, favors larger parties

Reinforced Imperiali

a stronger version of Imperiali, further favoring larger parties

Divisor

seats allocated by dividing party votes by a series of numbers

d’Hondt

divide votes by 1,2,3, slightly favors larger parties

Sainte-Lague Model

uses odd numbers, more proportional than d’Hondt

Modified Sainte-Lague Model

adjusted version to slightly favor larger parties

Mixed

combine majoritarian and proportional elements

Coexistence

both systems exist side by side with no interaction

Superposition

two systems layered on top of each other but still independent

Fusion

some interaction between majoritarian and proportional, but no proportional correction

Dependent

the proportional element corrects distortions from the majoritarian element (ex. Germany)

Correction

proportional representation seats compensate for disproportional results

Conditional

compensation occurs only under certain conditions (ex. thresholds)

Independent

majoritarian and proportional elements operate separately

How are Parliamentary and Semi-Presidential democracies brought down?

Vote of no confidence initiated by the legislature or by the government

Popular Election

Voters cast ballots directly for a candidate or to the electoral college

Fixed Term

Head of state serves for a fixed period of time

Presidential Democracy

Democracies where the government depends on a legislative majority to exist and the head of state not popularly elected to a fixed term

Semi-Presidential Democracy

Democracies where the government depends on a legislative majority to exist and the head of state is popularly elected to a fixed term

Prime Minister

The political chief executive and head of government, but not the head of state

Cabinet

Comprised of ministers who head various portfolios

Portfolio

Specific policy area, usually a government department

Formula

Determines the translation of votes into seats

Ballot Structure

Determines how choices are represented

District Magnitude

Number of representatives elected per district (M)

Thresholds

Minimum number of votes to win a seat

Multi-Member District (M>1)

Facilitates proportionality and coordination by ideologically compatible parties through shared links

M+1 Rule (Cox)

Given an M, there can exist M+1 parties

Lower M favors ___ and higher M favors ___

Larger parties; Small parties

Historical origins of PR

Miscoordination of ideologically compatible parties + rise of socialism in Europe scaring center-right bourgeois parties

Majoritarian electoral systems produce…

Single-party majorities

PR and Mixed-Dependent electoral systems produce…

Coalitions

Formateur

A person designated to form a government in a parliamentary democracy

Informateur

Inactive participant nominated by a head of state who picks a formateur after examining feasible coalitions

Investiture Vote

Formal vote in the legislature to determine whether a proposed government has the support of the legislative majority