Competitive Elections in Non-European Countries: The AEI "At the Polls" Series. A Review Essay

RESEARCHERS USING AGGREGATE AND SURVEY DATA IN STUDIES OF ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR MAY FEEL, WITH SOME JUSTIFICATION, THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONSIDER ELECTIONS IN THE LARGER CONTEXT OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM, AND THAT IT IS POSSIBLE, TO A GREATER EXTENT THAN DUVERGER BELIEVED, TO GIVE SOME RATHER...

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Published in:	The Western Political Quarterly 1984-09, Vol.37 (3), p.502-512
Main Author:	Palmer, Norman D.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	BEHAVIORISM COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS CONTROL OF HUMAN GROUP OPERATIONS CREATIVE PROCESSES DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND INSTITUTIONS FREEDOM MOBILIZATION POLITICAL PARTY POLITICAL SYSTEM AS A WHOLE POLLS (ALL TYPES) SOCIAL STRATA, CLASS DIVISION STABILITY OR INSTABILITY STATISTICS SURVEY DATA AND POLLING DATA SYMBOLOGY VOTING WESTERN EUROPE
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Summary:	RESEARCHERS USING AGGREGATE AND SURVEY DATA IN STUDIES OF ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR MAY FEEL, WITH SOME JUSTIFICATION, THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONSIDER ELECTIONS IN THE LARGER CONTEXT OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM, AND THAT IT IS POSSIBLE, TO A GREATER EXTENT THAN DUVERGER BELIEVED, TO GIVE SOME RATHER SUBSTANTIAL UNDERPINNING TO THIS BROAD THEME. ELECTIONS ARE THE MOST COMMON, AND THE MOST HIGHLY PUBLICIZED, FORM OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION. THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS THE MOST MEANINGFUL. IN SOME DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS WHERE THEY ARE TRULY MEANINGFUL, THE LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION, AS REGISTERED BY VOTING TURNOUT STATISTICS, MAY BE SHOCKINGLY LOW. IN MANY AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEMS, WHERE ELECTIONS ARE MAINLY CONTROLLED PROCESSES OF POLITICAL MANIPULATION, WITHOUT REAL FREEDOM OF CHOICE, THE LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION, AS MEASURED BY VOTING TURNOUT, IS, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, VERY HIGH. ELECTIONS MAY BE EITHER CHANNELS OF GENUINE CHOICE AND PARTICIPATION, OR INSTRUMENTS FOR MASS MOBILIZATION WITHOUT REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHOICE. IT IS ONE OF THE IRONIES OF MODERN POLITICAL PRACTICE THAT ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES, ESPECIALLY MASS-BASED PARTIES, ARE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT AGENCIES FOR ELITE CHOICE AND CONTROL RATHER THAN FOR GENUINE MASS PARTICIPATION. THIS IS ONE OF THE THEMES THAT DESERVES MORE SEARCHING ATTENTION IN ELECTORAL STUDIES, ESPECIALLY IN THE ANALYSES OF ELECTIONS IN NON-DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES-I.E., IN MOST OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE NON-WESTERN WORLD. OBVIOUSLY, ELECTIONS HAVE DIFFERENT MPY: 1984
ISSN:	0043-4078 2325-8675