ISBN : 9780190879761
Recently, most Latin American countries have shifted from a plurality (first-past-the-post) rule for the election of the president to a runoff (two-round) rule. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality rules throughout Latin America, and demonstrates that, in contrast to early scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for democracy in the region.
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Research Design and Quantitative Analysis
Chapter Three: Why Was Runoff Superior? Theory and Cross-National Evidence
Chapter Four: Plurality: Problems in Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Venezuela (and the Panama Exception)
Chapter Five: Runoff: Success in Brazil, Chile, The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Uruguay
Chapter Six: Runoff Amid a Plethora of Political Parties: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru
Chapter Seven: Runoff: Is a Reduced Threshold Better? Argentina and Costa Rica
Chapter Eight: Conclusion and the Future of Presidential-Election Rules
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index
