In the 25 years since Arend Lijphart remarked that ′the study of electoral systems is undoubtedly the most underdeveloped subject in political science′ the field has developed rapidly. It is now a mature research area served by several journals, many book-length treatments, and a number of long-running comparative studies that cover just about every electoral systems family on the planet. This four-volume set brings together the very best of this research to present a comprehensive picture of electoral systems study from their design and stability to the outcomes they produce and the question of reform.
@!Electoral system design and reform
@!Indices relating to electoral systems
@!Duverger′s Laws
@!Electoral systems and stability
@!Electoral systems and other consequences
@!Electoral systems cases studies.
David M. Farrell holds the Chair of Politics at University College Dublin. A specialist in the study of electoral systems and party politics, he is founding co-editor of Party Politics and until recently was co-editor of Representation (where he was one of the driving forces behind the move to ′professionalize′ the journal). He has published extensively on electoral systems, particularly in his two most recent books: Representing Europe′s Citizens? (Oxford 2007) and The Australian Electoral System (University of New South Wales Press 2006). He is currently revising his textbook, Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction (for publication by Palgrave Macmillan in 2010).
Matthew S. Shugart is Professor in the Department of Political Science and the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego. His books include Seats and Votes: The Effects and Determinants of Electoral Systems (Yale University Press, 1989, with Rein Taagepera), Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics (Cambridge University Press, 1992, with John M. Carey), Mixed-Member Electoral Systems: The Best of Both Worlds? (Oxford University Press, 2001, edited, with Martin P. Wattenberg), and Presidents, Parties, and Prime Ministers: How the Separation of Powers Affects Party Organization and Behavior (Cambridge University Press, 2010, with David J. Samuels). He has been awarded two National Science Foundation grants in recent years to undertake cross-national data collection and analysis on candidate characteristics and experience under different electoral systems, and has published more than 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
