“Revolutionary Elections” in the Western Hemisphere in the Long Nineteenth Century

Abstract This chapter, while serving as a conclusion for the volume, offers a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective on the revolutionary elections examined here. After looking at some of the unique features of the electoral history in the hemisphere, it first reviews the argument for the “revolutionary” nature of the elections included in the Handbook. It then considers what commonalities can be derived from comparing this set of revolutionary elections; and it ends by reflecting on what a temporally and spatially grounded comparison of this kind may contribute to more general thinking about elections, democratization processes, and the stability of modern constitutional democracies.