Russia: the authoritarian adaptation of an electoral system

White, S. (2005) Russia: the authoritarian adaptation of an electoral system. In: Gallagher, M. and Mitchell, P. (eds.) The Politics of Electoral Systems. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, pp. 313-330. ISBN 9780199257560 (doi: 10.1093/0199257566.003.0015)

Abstract

Russia’s mixed parallel system was adopted after the collapse of communism, following a series of negotiations and disagreements between parliament and president. The high thresholds applied in the PR-list component of elections resulted in considerable disproportionality and a significant number of votes cast for parties that failed to reach the threshold. The fact that the lists were closed led to very weak links between list MPs and citizens. The single-member constituencies, contrary to the predictions of Duverger’s Law, have not favoured the larger parties, but have seen the election of many independent MPs. The elimination of the single-member constituencies proposed by president Putin is part of a broader authoritarian adaptation of the electoral process.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: White, Professor Stephen
• Authors: White, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISBN: 9780199257560

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