The Politics of Electoral Reform in Central Europe since 1989

This book on the politics of electoral reform in Central Europe since 1989 explains by whom why and how the electoral rules were changed in Central Europe in the post-Communist period. Examining the contextual factors affecting underlying and/or initiating these changes the book identifies main actors their motivations and other circumstances surrounding the electoral reform processes. It further explores their political consequences particularly on proportionality and personalization.<div><br></div><div>Based on a detailed analysis of electoral reform processes in Czechoslovakia Czechia Hungary and Slovakia over the past thirty years the book discusses how the politics of electoral reform in Central Europe is mostly driven controlled and decided by politicians with other actors being either overlooked or ignored. Finally it argues that most of the cases were imposed by an elite majority with the sole exception of the Czech Republic where the politics of electoral reform were influenced by the intervention of the constitutional court as an external actor.</div><div><br></div><div>The book will appeal to students researchers and scholars of political science interested in a better understanding of electoral politics in general as well as democratic transformation processes and electoral reform in Central Europe.</div>