Driving Democracy
Do Power-Sharing Institutions Work?

This book is a comparative study of power-sharing institutions that analyzes the consequences for democracy worldwide.

Pippa Norris (Author)

9780521873192, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 August 2008

320 pages, 33 b/w illus. 20 tables
24 x 16 x 2.2 cm, 0.57 kg

'… [Norris'] book represents a fine example of comparative political analysis in the mould of Arend Lijphart's 1977 classic Democracy in Plural Societies.' Political Studies Review

Proposals for power-sharing constitutions remain controversial, as highlighted by current debates in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sudan. This book updates and refines the theory of consociationalism, taking account of the flood of contemporary innovations in power-sharing institutions that have occurred worldwide. The book classifies and compares four types of political institutions: the electoral system, parliamentary or presidential executives, unitary or federal states, and the structure and independence of the mass media. The study tests the potential advantages and disadvantages of each of these institutions for democratic governance. Cross-national time-series data concerning trends in democracy are analyzed for all countries worldwide since the early 1970s. Chapters are enriched by comparing detailed case studies. The mixed-method research design illuminates the underlying causal mechanisms by examining historical developments and processes of institutional change within particular nations and regions.

Part I. Do Power-Sharing Regimes Work?: 1. What drives democracy?
2. Evidence and methods
3. Democratic indicators and trends
4. Wealth and democracy
Part II. The Impact of Power-Sharing Institutions: 5. Electoral systems
6. Presidential and parliamentary executives
7. Federalism and decentralization
8. The fourth estate
Part III: Conclusions: 9. What works? Lessons for public policy.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Comparative politics [JPB], Political science & theory [JPA]