Contextual Determinants of Electoral System Choice - Ã bo Akademi

study. As long as all seats are allocated to candidates from a single political group,there is no need to manipulate the electoral system in order to maximize theelectoral support – majoritarian elections are naturally applied. When the ban onpolitical parties is abolished and competitive elections are introduced, the electoralsystem becomes an effective manipulative instrument for the political actors,especially the ruling party, which is concerned about retaining as much as possibleof its former power position. Simultaneously, party system transformation is astructural phenomenon: absolute one-party rule is replaced by a multi-party systemand a competitive political arena.The assumption is, to sum up, as follows: countries that end one-party rule andallow competitive elections are expected to adopt mixed or proportional electoralsystems. This is primarily regarded as a consequence of the (former) ruling partyafraid of losing power if a majoritarian winner-take-all system is maintained. Inaddition, the new parties may feel insecure about their possibilities of electoralsuccess, and as a consequence, prefer proportional seat allocation.3.2.4 Culture and History: Patterns of DiffusionThe second approach maintains that electoral systems, as well as otherconstitutional and institutional features reflect the cultural and historical contextsto which they belong. This point of view has been stressed, among others, byLijphart (1991a; 1992b) and Lipset (1992). In Lijphart’s introduction toParliamentary Versus Presidential Government (Lijphart 1992b; 1992c), thecongruency between particular constitutional regimes and sharply delineatedcultural-regional settings is emphasized. In the same volume, Lipset (1992: 207-211) brings out the importance of political culture with respect to democratictradition. With reference to Belize and Canada as the only states in the mainlandregion of the Americas having other executive systems than the limitedpresidential, D. Anckar maintains that regime diffusion “may also be aconsequence of a colonial past, countries adopting the constitutional models offormer metropolitan powers and diffusion thereby rather being an expression ofculture as tradition” (2004: 207). A bird’s eye view on the map of the worldsuggests that electoral systems are also dependent on the cultural, historical andregional context. Proportional systems dominate in South America and Europe,98