Democracy and elections1997
by Richard S. Katz
Democracy and Elections ties together political theory about the nature of democracies and empirical research on various electoral systems. After providing an historical review of the electoral institutions of Athens, the Roman Republic, the medieval church, and pre-reform Britain, author Richard S. Katz goes on to examine what role elections are expected to play in a variety of democratic theories.
He addresses the relationship between four values of democratic theory - popular sovereignty, liberalism, personal development, and community - and the electoral institutions used to implement them. The major theme set forth by Katz is that these four values are largely incompatible; therefore, different choices must be made among them.
This impressive study provides empirical information on...