Studies of Electoral Institutions in Comparative Politics

With a Focus on Italian Political Science

Abstract

This article introduces recent important contribution by Giovanni Sartori, Leonardo Morlino, Reuven Hazan and Elizabeth McLeay to the studies of electoral reform and its impact on party system change. It first summarizes Sartori's latest theoretical work. According to Sartori, the electoral system has a direct effect on the number of parties (the format of the party system). The number of relevant parties is important, because the format explains and predicts the mechanics… the systemic characteristics of distinctive types of party systems. This article then reviews three empirical studies on how actual electoral reforms have changed party systems in Italy, Israel and New Zealand.