Patterns of Democracy : Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries

by Arend Lijphart

• ISBN13: 9780300078930
• ISBN10: 0300078935
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1999-07-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

In this updated and expanded edition of his highly acclaimed book Democracies, Arend Lijphart offers a broader and deeper analysis of worldwide democratic institutions than ever before. Examining thirty-six democracies during the half-century from 1945 to 1996, Lijphart arrives at important -- and unexpected -- conclusions about what type of democracy works best. While conventional wisdom suggests that majoritarian democracies like those in the United States and Great Britain are superior to consensual systems like those in Switzerland and Israel, Lijphart shows this is not so. In fact, consensual systems stimulate economic growth, control inflation and unemployment, and limit budget deficits just as well as majoritarian democracies do. And, consensus democracies clearly outperform majoritarian systems on measures of political equality, women's representation, citizen participation in elections, and proximity between government policies and voter preferences.Systematically comparing cabinets, legislatures, parties, election systems, supreme courts, and -- for the first time in this volume -- interest groups and central banks, Lijphart demonstrates that the more consensual a democracy, the "kinder and gentler" it is when addressing welfare, environmental, criminal justice, and foreign aid issues. These findings are of far-reaching import not only for countries designing their first democratic constitutions but also for established democracies seeking practical approaches to reform.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
The Westminster Model of Democracy	9	(22)
The Consensus Model of Democracy	31	(17)
Thirty-Six Democracies	48	(14)
Party Systems: Two-Party and Multiparty Patterns	62	(28)
Cabinets: Concentration Versus Sharing of Executive Power	90	(26)
Executive-Legislative Relations: Patterns of Dominance and Balance of Power	116	(27)
Electoral Systems: Majority and Plurality Methods Versus Proportional Representation	143	(28)
Interest Groups: Pluralism Versus Corporatism	171	(14)
Division of Power: The Federal-Unitary and Centralized-Decentralized Contrasts	185	(15)
Parliaments and Congresses: Concentration Versus Division of Legislative Power	200	(16)
Constitutions: Amendment Procedures and Judicial Review	216	(16)
Central Banks: Independence Versus Dependence	232	(11)
The Two-Dimensional Conceptual Map of Democracy	243	(15)
Macro-Economic Management and the Control of Violence: Does Consensus Democracy Make a Difference?	258	(17)
The Quality of Democracy and a ``Kinder, Gentler'' Democracy: Consensus Democracy Makes a Difference	275	(26)
Conclusions and Recommendations	301	(10)
Appendix A. Two Dimensions and Ten Basic Variables, 1945--96 and 1971--96	311	(4)
Appendix B. Alternative Measure of Multipartism, Cabinet Composition, and Disproportionality, 1945--96 and 1971--96	315	(2)
References	317	(24)
Index	341