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Comparative Election Law
This timely research handbook offers a systematic and comprehensive examination of the election laws of democratic nations. Through a study of a range of different regimes of election law, it illuminates the disparate choices that societies have made concerning the benefits they wish their democratic institutions to provide, the means by which such benefits are to be delivered, and the underlying values, commitments, and conceptions of democratic self-rule that inform these choices.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
This timely research handbook offers a systematic and comprehensive examination of the election laws of democratic nations. Through a study of a range of different regimes of election law, it illuminates the disparate choices that societies have made concerning the benefits they wish their democratic institutions to provide, the means by which such benefits are to be delivered, and the underlying values, commitments, and conceptions of democratic self-rule that inform these choices.
Comparative Election Law features a wide scope of coverage, from distribution of the franchise, to candidate qualifications, to campaign speech and finance, to election administration, and more. Contributions from a range of expert scholars in the field are brought together to tackle difficult problems surrounding the definition of the democratic demos, as well as to lay bare important disjunctions between democratic ideals and feasible democratic regimes in practice. Furthermore, a comparative approach is also taken to examine democratic regimes at a theoretical as well as a descriptive level.
Featuring key research in a vitally important area, this research handbook will be crucial reading for academics and students in a range of fields including comparative law, legal theory, political science, political theory, and democracy. It will also be useful to politicians and government officials engaged in election regulation, due to its excellent perspective on the range of regulatory options and how to evaluate them.
Comparative Election Law features a wide scope of coverage, from distribution of the franchise, to candidate qualifications, to campaign speech and finance, to election administration, and more. Contributions from a range of expert scholars in the field are brought together to tackle difficult problems surrounding the definition of the democratic demos, as well as to lay bare important disjunctions between democratic ideals and feasible democratic regimes in practice. Furthermore, a comparative approach is also taken to examine democratic regimes at a theoretical as well as a descriptive level.
Featuring key research in a vitally important area, this research handbook will be crucial reading for academics and students in a range of fields including comparative law, legal theory, political science, political theory, and democracy. It will also be useful to politicians and government officials engaged in election regulation, due to its excellent perspective on the range of regulatory options and how to evaluate them.
Critical Acclaim
‘This is a fabulous book by one of the leading thinkers of law and democracy. It fills a tremendous hole in the literature by emphasizing the importance of a comparative approach to helping us think anew about both old and new problems in law and democracy.’
– Guy-Uriel Emmanuel Charles, Harvard Law School, US
‘This rich edited volume belongs on the bookshelf of any serious student of election law anywhere in the world. The quality of the contributors and the depth of analysis is unparalleled, bringing together some of the most thoughtful scholars considering essential questions on the nature of democracy, election rules, and popular will. A must read!’
– Richard L. Hasen, University of California, Irvine, US
– Guy-Uriel Emmanuel Charles, Harvard Law School, US
‘This rich edited volume belongs on the bookshelf of any serious student of election law anywhere in the world. The quality of the contributors and the depth of analysis is unparalleled, bringing together some of the most thoughtful scholars considering essential questions on the nature of democracy, election rules, and popular will. A must read!’
– Richard L. Hasen, University of California, Irvine, US
Contributors
Contributors: Nicholas Aroney, Lauren Causer, Yasmin Dawood, Rosalind Dixon, Jacob Eisler, Chad Flanders, Anna Gamper, James A. Gardner, Roberto Gargarella, Anika Gauja, Andrew Geddis, Hoi L. Kong, Timothy K. Kuhner, David Landau, Ron Levy, Makau Mutua, Ian O’Flynn, Graeme Orr, Michael Pal, Patricia Popelier, Eduardo Posada-Carbó, Jacob Rowbottom, Marc Sanjaume-Calvet, Nicholas Stephanopolous, Joo-Cheong Tham, Dennis F. Thompson, Daniel P. Tokaji
Contents
Contents:
INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction: election law—universal or particular? 2
James A. Gardner
PART I TWO VIEWS OF ELECTION LAW
2 Concepts and principles of electoral law in Europe 15
Anna Gamper
3 Comparative election law in Canada 32
Hoi L. Kong
PART II PROBLEMS OF THE DEMOS
4 Representation in federations 51
Nicholas Aroney and Lauren Causer
5 Indigenous peoples and electoral law 71
Andrew Geddis
6 The fraud of John Locke: subnational challenges to democratic theory 90
Makau W. Mutua
7 Democracy and secessionism: constitutional firewalls and an emerging
accommodational paradigm 115
Marc Sanjaume-Calvet
PART III INSTITUTIONS AND STRUCTURES
8 Electoral systems and conceptions of politics 140
James A. Gardner
9 Constitutional design of political rights: the emerging model 158
Michael Pal
10 Political parties: private associations or public utilities? 177
Anika Gauja
11 Why representative democracy requires referendums 193
Dennis F. Thompson
12 The role of deliberative peace referendums in the constitutional
settlement of conflict 212
Ron Levy and Ian O’Flynn
PART IV VOTING
13 Elections, republicanism, and the demands of democracy: a view from
the Americas 236
Roberto Gargarella
14 The long and unfinished road to universal suffrage and the development
of electoral institutions: a Latin American perspective, 1810–1985 250
Eduardo Posada-Carbó
15 Constructing the demos: voter qualification laws in comparative perspective 272
Yasmin Dawood
16 Disenfranchisement due to crime 290
Chad Flanders
PART V CANDIDATES
17 Qualifications to be an elected representative 305
Graeme Orr
18 A constitutional perspective on electoral gender quotas 322
Patricia Popelier
19 Designing and protecting presidential term limits 344
David Landau and Rosalind Dixon
PART VI CAMPAIGN SPEECH AND FINANCE
20 Campaign speech and the universal dilemma in the common law of
elections: a lesson from the Anglo-American divide 369
Jacob Eisler
21 Campaign finance and electoral speech in the media 388
Jacob Rowbottom
22 Regulating money in politics: from electoral integrity to democratic integrity 410
Joo-Cheong Tham
PART VII ADMINISTRATION
23 Comparative election administration: a legal perspective on electoral
institutions 436
Daniel P. Tokaji
24 Depoliticizing redistricting 459
Nicholas Stephanopoulos
CONCLUSION
25 Conclusion: inequality, corruption, and climate change—rethinking
election law in the twenty-first century 478
Timothy K. Kuhner
Index
INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction: election law—universal or particular? 2
James A. Gardner
PART I TWO VIEWS OF ELECTION LAW
2 Concepts and principles of electoral law in Europe 15
Anna Gamper
3 Comparative election law in Canada 32
Hoi L. Kong
PART II PROBLEMS OF THE DEMOS
4 Representation in federations 51
Nicholas Aroney and Lauren Causer
5 Indigenous peoples and electoral law 71
Andrew Geddis
6 The fraud of John Locke: subnational challenges to democratic theory 90
Makau W. Mutua
7 Democracy and secessionism: constitutional firewalls and an emerging
accommodational paradigm 115
Marc Sanjaume-Calvet
PART III INSTITUTIONS AND STRUCTURES
8 Electoral systems and conceptions of politics 140
James A. Gardner
9 Constitutional design of political rights: the emerging model 158
Michael Pal
10 Political parties: private associations or public utilities? 177
Anika Gauja
11 Why representative democracy requires referendums 193
Dennis F. Thompson
12 The role of deliberative peace referendums in the constitutional
settlement of conflict 212
Ron Levy and Ian O’Flynn
PART IV VOTING
13 Elections, republicanism, and the demands of democracy: a view from
the Americas 236
Roberto Gargarella
14 The long and unfinished road to universal suffrage and the development
of electoral institutions: a Latin American perspective, 1810–1985 250
Eduardo Posada-Carbó
15 Constructing the demos: voter qualification laws in comparative perspective 272
Yasmin Dawood
16 Disenfranchisement due to crime 290
Chad Flanders
PART V CANDIDATES
17 Qualifications to be an elected representative 305
Graeme Orr
18 A constitutional perspective on electoral gender quotas 322
Patricia Popelier
19 Designing and protecting presidential term limits 344
David Landau and Rosalind Dixon
PART VI CAMPAIGN SPEECH AND FINANCE
20 Campaign speech and the universal dilemma in the common law of
elections: a lesson from the Anglo-American divide 369
Jacob Eisler
21 Campaign finance and electoral speech in the media 388
Jacob Rowbottom
22 Regulating money in politics: from electoral integrity to democratic integrity 410
Joo-Cheong Tham
PART VII ADMINISTRATION
23 Comparative election administration: a legal perspective on electoral
institutions 436
Daniel P. Tokaji
24 Depoliticizing redistricting 459
Nicholas Stephanopoulos
CONCLUSION
25 Conclusion: inequality, corruption, and climate change—rethinking
election law in the twenty-first century 478
Timothy K. Kuhner
Index
