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This study analyzes the performance of the electoral systems in South Eastern European countries during the last two decades. It will argue that no other European region has experimented more with electoral systems than the SEE region. This has happened for many reasons: the lack of democratic experience, the nature of the new authoritarian regimes, the political interests of major parties and ethnical composition. Periodic changes that are made to the electoral systems are reflected by changes in the political systems. Countries where electoral systems have had more stability are those that have also had the most stable democracy levels. The study discusses the progress of the electoral process in each of the South Eastern European Country. It analyzes the features, common indicators, external and internal influences, as well as the formulas for translating votes into seats. The current study shows the tendency of regional countries to shift from the majoritarian electoral systems, introduced at first, to proportional electoral systems, as well as the new trends of specific formulas used to represent the ethnic communities and groups of citizens living abroad. While in the early 90's the electoral system had the tendency towards new political inflows, current tendencies are opposite. The traditional parties have a tendency to control the political representation system, while the new political inflows demanding political representation face obvious difficulties. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n7p569

The study of electoral systems is a key area of research within political science. In part, the attention paid to electoral systems reflects their importance to democratic political systems. Electoral systems define "what constitutes" a vote, establish "a rule for how votes are totaled," and create a mechanism for "translating vote share into seat allocations" for representative institutions (Bawn 1993, 966). These roles mean that electoral systems impact not only how interests are represented, but also how accountability is structured.

Utilizing data from 15 countries that employ mixed electoral systems, we provide a cross-national analysis of the defining elements & potentially constraining effects of such systems. Using district level election results, we examine the effects of the proportional representation (PR) & single-member district (SMD) tiers of mixed systems separately & in combination. We also test the effects on electoral outcomes of different components of mixed systems such as linked tiers, ratio of SMD to PR seats, & majority versus plurality rules in the SMD tier. Our findings suggest that, despite claims of a "contamination effect" between the two tiers, in countries with developed party systems, PR & SMD electoral arrangements tend to approximate their expected effects even when used in combination in mixed systems. We also find that particular institutional characteristics within mixed systems have a substantial constraining effect on the number of significant political parties. However, the nature of the party system itself, in particular the extent to which its parties are institutionalized, also plays a very important role in shaping the degree to which constraining effects are truly felt. 6 Tables, 1 Appendix, 28 References. [Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ltd.]

This paper provides a long-term perspective on women's legislative representation in 20 Western democracies by describing & analyzing the patterns over a 50-year period, 1950-2000. Descriptive patterns show that the same countries who were leaders in women's representation, albeit at very low levels, in the 1950s, remain the leaders, but with an increased gap, in 2000. A multivariate analysis of factors influencing women's representation over the entire period finds that the most important variables are a proportional electoral system, early women's enfranchisement, & the introduction of gender quotas for political parties. The conclusion emphasizes the implications of these findings for women's legislative representation in Anglo-American democracies. 3 Tables, 1 Figure, 13 References. Adapted from the source document.

How do new party systems evolve over time? This article argues that party system evolution requires the solution of coordination problems that voters face in early elections; this happens through a learning mechanism. Elections reveal information to voters, who update their beliefs about party viability and the distribution of voters' preferences and adjust their behaviour. The institutional setting, however, strongly conditions the pace of learning. Restrictive electoral systems (single-member district) accelerate learning through the harsh penalties they impose on miscoordination, while permissive ones (proportional representation) prolong it. Testing the argument on a district-level dataset in new democracies provides ample support; voters learn to cast fewer wasted votes over time and this happens faster in single-member district systems. The findings point to a trade-off between consolidation and representation; while party system evolution is facilitated by restrictive electoral systems, the presence of distinct social groups in the political arena is better served by permissive ones.

How do new party systems evolve over time? This article argues that party system evolution requires the solution of coordination problems that voters face in early elections; this happens through a learning mechanism. Elections reveal information to voters, who update their beliefs about party viability and the distribution of voters' preferences and adjust their behaviour. The institutional setting, however, strongly conditions the pace of learning. Restrictive electoral systems (single-member district) accelerate learning through the harsh penalties they impose on miscoordination, while permissive ones (proportional representation) prolong it. Testing the argument on a district-level dataset in new democracies provides ample support; voters learn to cast fewer wasted votes over time and this happens faster in single-member district systems. The findings point to a trade-off between consolidation and representation; while party system evolution is facilitated by restrictive electoral systems, the presence of distinct social groups in the political arena is better served by permissive ones.