Determinants of Electoral Reform: Patterns across Diverse Electoral Institutions

Abstract

The reform of electoral institutions has attracted widespread interest in political science. Although earlier studies focused primarily on changes affecting proportionality, a wave a new research has begun to explore a wider definition of ‘electoral reform.’ This includes analyzing the shape and introduction of changes related to campaign finance, candidate selection processes, election administration, and procedures for casting votes (including shifts towards direct election of candidates as opposed to election via votes for political parties), among others. Despite this shared objective, however, this literature has remained largely compartmentalized, focusing on individual types of reform. The aim of this panel is to facilitate dialogue among scholars working on various kinds of changes to electoral institutions to explore similarities and variations in the origins of these reforms, focusing on actors both inside and outside of political parties. Papers might focus on single or multiple categories of reform and explore trends in one or more countries. Papers linking the origins of reforms to variations in their effects are also welcome.

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