Political Institutions and Democratic Anxieties

Can the design of political institutions help to address fundamental challenges faced by representative democracies around the world? Political polarization, corrupt politicians, unequal responsiveness, underrepresentation of women and minorities and the rise of populism are some of the pressing democratic anxieties that might be tackled by institutional reforms (among others). However, scholars do not agree on the promises and pitfalls of institutional reform, and potential trade-offs abound. In this section, we would like to help move these important debates forward by bringing together panels and papers dealing with political institutions, their reforms and the effects they might unfold on various challenges for representative democracies. Comparative analyses and case-studies are welcome.