Electoral reform in Europe since 1945

This article surveys and analyses democratic electoral reform in Europe since 1945 in order to pursue three issues. First, it seeks understanding of the processes through which electoral systems change. Second, it asks how the incidence of these processes varies over context and time. Third, it investigates whether there are relationships between the nature of the processes through which electoral system change occurs and the electoral reforms that are thereby adopted. The analysis suggests, most importantly, that electoral system changes occur via multiple contrasting processes, that there is a tendency towards increasing impact of mass opinion upon these changes, and that this is beginning to generate a trend towards greater personalisation in the electoral systems adopted. These findings are, however, preliminary; the article is intended to encourage further discussion and research.

The expenses scandal and the politics of electoral reform

The scandal over MPs' expenses that erupted in 2009 was followed by a surge in discussion of electoral reform. A range of reforms to Westminster's existing electoral system are now high on the political agenda. This article examines the extent and the nature of the scandal's impact on the electoral reform debate and draws out comparative implications for the sorts of conditions that can force politicians to accept electoral reforms that they do not want. It finds that the expenses scandal significantly changed debate about some electoral reform topics, but not about others. It proposes three factors likely to increase the impact of scandal in sparking reform: that the scandal is seen as harming ordinary people in their daily lives; that reforms can readily be understood as likely to mitigate the sources of scandal; and that those reforms do not seriously harm politicians' own perceived interests.

The quality of referendum debate: the UK's electoral system referendum in the print media

This paper analyses the quality of debate surrounding the UK’s 2011 electoral reform referendum as represented in the print media. It first considers how debate quality in the context of a referendum campaign may best be conceptualized. It then uses content analysis of media coverage to investigate three aspects of that debate: its quantity; the balance between Yes and No arguments, and the quality of reason-giving. It finds that the quantity of debate was comparable to other recent electoral reform referendums. Coverage was predominantly, but not overwhelmingly, hostile to change. The different indicators of the quality of reason-giving present a mixed picture. The paper concludes by considering how the analysis could be extended through further comparison with other cases.

The UK's Electoral Reform Referendum of May 2011

The UK’s second nationwide referendum, held in May 2011, offers rich opportunities for analysing the dynamics of a referendum campaign. The articles gathered together in this symposium address three themes. The first concerns the determinants and dynamics of public opinion during a referendum campaign, the second relates to the potential for interaction between the referendum and simultaneous elections, and the third focuses on coverage of the referendum in the media. Following a brief outline of the background to the referendum, this paper introduces the contribution that each article makes to these themes.

Terrorism and electoral accountability: one strike, you're out!

We examine the relationship between terrorism and electoral accountability. We find that terror has a robust positive effect on the probability that the incumbent government is replaced. The magnitude of the effect increases with the severity of the terrorist attack.

Is the future of electoral reform local?

The Electoral Reform Society has recently published two reports putting the case for electoral reform in local government. These suggest acceptance, in the wake of defeat in the 2011 Alternative Vote referendum, that the group’s ultimate goal of change to the Westminster electoral system is unlikely to be fulfilled soon and that a more gradual strategy is therefore needed. This paper examines this shift by asking three questions. First, is Westminster electoral reform really a dead letter? Second, is local electoral reform more likely—and, if so, just how much more likely? Third, would local electoral reform matter in itself?

Una memoria consensuada : El Informe Rettig

No cabe duda que hoy día la memoria de la dictadura militar (1973-1990) está presente en la vida cotidiana de Chile más que ningún otro periodo histórico. La razón se encuentra en los trágicos sucesos que se vivieron duran- te esos años en materia de derechos humanos. Don Patricio Aylwin, primer presidente electo democráticamente en tras 17 años de autoritarismo y una figura comprometida con los derechos humanos, era consciente de la necesi- dad de investigar la verdad de los crímenes de lesa humanidad ocurridos en Chile. Para ello creó la Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación, aunque consideró menester limitar el contenido de su informe con el fin de no amedrentar a las Fuerzas Armadas, las cuales gozaban todavía de mucho poder. Asimismo, el apoyo electoral de los partidos de derecha fue un factor que logró coartar el contenido del informe de la comisión. En este trabajo se presentan aquellas cuestiones que más relevancia tuvieron en la conformación de la verdad de la represión, tales como sus objetivos, sus integrantes y su metodología.

As ideias psicologicas e o ensino de psicologia nos cursos normais de Porto Alegre no periodo de 1920 a 1950

O ensino de psicologia no Rio Grande do Sul teve seu início relacionado à criação dos cursos de formação de professores primários, também conhecidos como cursos normais. No estado se destacou o papel do Instituto de Educação General Flores da Cunha, de Porto Alegre. Este instituto foi o principal centro de formação de docentes para o ensino primário e difusor de novas idéias relativas à educação, entre elas o estudo dos conteúdos psicológicos. Esta dissertação estuda a presença da psicologia nos cursos normais de Porto Alegre no período de 1920 a 1950. Aponta as diversas idéias psicológicas que influenciaram as práticas pedagógicas da época e identifica os primeiros professores que lecionaram esta disciplina. Para tanto, examina documentos oficiais, decretos-lei estaduais e federais, e publicações que introduziram e regulamentaram o ensino de Psicologia no estado. O estudo argumenta que as idéias psicológicas já se encontravam presentes nos cursos de formações de professores nas primeiras décadas de século XX, embora só comecem a aparecer como uma disciplina autônoma em 1925. E conclui que o ensino da Psicologia experimentou uma expansão a partir do final da década de 1920 que durou até meados dos anos 50, quando ocorreu a fragmentação do currículo dos cursos normais. O ensino da Psicologia despertou o interesse para as questões de desenvolvimento psicológico infantil, da saúde mental e do aconselhamento profissional, reafirmando a existência de uma relação de complementaridade entre Psicologia e Pedagogia. Este trabalho constituiu-se não somente no primeiro esforço de traçar o panorama da presença Psicologia no Rio Grande do Sul, mas também de identificar, nestes primórdios, tendências que influenciam a formação dos psicólogos hoje.

Crescimento das receitas municipais periodo 1989/1992: o papel da ABRASF - Associação Brasileira dos Secretários de Finanças das Capitais

Apresenta a experiência vivida pelo autor à frente da ABRASF - Associação Brasileira dos Secretários de Finanças das Capitais, de 1989 a 1992, quando; houve notável crescimento da receita própria municipal. Nesse período, ocorreu o efeito da reforma tributária da Constituição de 1988 que descentralizou receitas tributárias, ao mesmo tempo em que os municípios desenvolveram grande esforço: para o aumento de suas receitas, seja através de reformas tributárias municipais, seja através do aprimoramento da gestão fiscal. A ABRASF serviu de espaço de acumulação e divulgação da experiência das capitais para os demais municípios brasileiros

Impactos das reformas estruturais e democratização no desenvolvimento econômico na América Latina no periodo de 1970-95

Este trabalho analisa o impacto da democratização e das reformas estruturais no desenvolvimento econômico em 17 países da América Latina no período de 1970-95. Para tal, adota um modelo conceitual-derivado do modelo de crescimento neoclássico onde são consideradas as variáveis representativas de reforma e de democratização

Electoral rules, political competition and fiscal spending: regression discontinuity evidence from brazilian municipalities

We exploit a discontinuity in Brazilian municipal election rules to investigate whether political competition has a causal impact on policy choices. In municipalities with less than 200,000 voters mayors are elected with a plurality of the vote. In municipalities with more than 200,000 voters a run-off election takes place among the top two candidates if neither achieves a majority of the votes. At a first stage, we show that the possibility of runoff increases political competition. At a second stage, we use the discontinuity as a source of exogenous variation to infer causality from political competition to fiscal policy. Our second stage results suggest that political competition induces more investment and less current spending, particularly personnel expenses. Furthermore, the impact of political competition is larger when incumbents can run for reelection, suggesting incentives matter insofar as incumbents can themselves remain in office.