The partisan effect of electoral systems: studying complex electoral rules

Comparative studies establishing the link between electoral systems and representation often look at the difference between proportional representation (PR) and plurality/majority rule, or district magnitude as main explanatory variable, leaving more complex electoral systems apart. We are interested in these less studied electoral systems. For instance, mixed electoral systems are expected to provide for a happy medium between proportional representation and simple plurality or majority-vote systems, but the complexities of the interaction of two different electoral rules leave many questions open. Other types of electoral systems, such as the Single (Non-)Transferable Vote, Limited Voting, or features of electoral systems, such as list apparentments under PR, territorial vote distribution requirements or bi-proportional seat allocation rules, are even less studied. This panel gathers contributions about the effect of these electoral systems on party strategies, on the formation of party systems and on party representation. This might include papers that explore to what degree the degree of proportionality of complex electoral systems is comparable to the one of PR or of the plurality vote (first-past-the-post) or the majority vote, or which study further aspects related to party representation: polarisation of political parties, descriptive representation, policy congruence, inter-party coalitions, etc. We expect papers to apply innovative methodological approaches and new data sources, allowing the study of complex electoral rules, which are rarely used, so that they can hardly be explored using large datasets on national parliamentary elections.