Contextual Determinants of Electoral System Choice - Ã bo Akademi

French colonial legacy is also of some importance in explaining electoral systemchoice but not to the same extent as British legacy. Among democracies, however,a French legacy does not exist, because only two French colonies were democraticwhen independence was proclaimed. The number of electoral systems initiated bythe British is, after all, more than twice as large as the number of systems exportedfrom France. The fact that block vote is not a popular electoral formula anymoremay be seen as an indicator of French legacy not being as deep-rooted and strongas British legacy that is still visible in the world today. The impact of Britishcolonial rule has been regarded as positive and developmental in several ways,whereas the rule by several other colonial powers has been considered intrusiveand exploitative. These circumstances probably explain why several formercolonies have preferred other systems than those of their former masters. In thisconnection, it may be pointed out that all four countries previously under Americancolonial rule, which is considered as reminiscent of British colonialism, adoptedplurality systems.Transfer of institutions has taken place from other countries than colonial powersas well. The regional diffusion variable deals with the imitation of electoral systemchoices in neighboring countries. In the difficult process of constitution making, itis natural to look for arrangements in culturally similar countries, and make similardecisions as they have. The empirical analyses provide support for the theoreticalarguments. On the basis of a few specified criteria, slightly more than one third ofall adopted electoral systems between 1945 and 2003 qualify as cases of regionaldiffusion. The frequency is somewhat lower among democracies. In order to avoidover-determination, inherited systems are disqualified as cases of imitatingneighboring countries. Regional diffusion is primarly associated with the adoptionof proportional systems, mostly in Europe and Latin America. Another finding isthat several countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union have adoptedsimilar electoral systems, i.e. mixed-superposition. One can hardly believe that allthese societies are in need of this particularly system; it has probably been chosenbecause of a prevailing perception in that region that this system is superior toother systems. Hence, the findings concerning regional influence emphasize therole of cognitive heuristics as the logic behind policy adoptions in general andinstitutional choices in particular. The unique availability of electoral reformsimplemented in the neighborhood often puts similar reforms on the agenda inseveral other countries of the same region.228