Preface

The idea for this book grew out of our shared interest in the intricate dynamics of electoral systems and their profound impact on democratic politics. Throughout our research, we observed that electoral systems are not merely technical details of governance but pivotal instruments that shape political power and influence. This realization led us to explore the mechanisms by which electoral systems are designed, manipulated, and changed. The choice of an electoral system is one of the most consequential decisions in any democracy, affecting not only the political landscape but also how diverse societal interests are represented. Our initial inspiration for this book came from observing the ongoing debates and controversies surrounding electoral system reform in various democracies. Historical cases such as the adoption of proportional representation in Belgium and Switzerland provided a rich empirical ground for examining how established parties navigate new electoral threats. These cases exemplify the broader patterns of strategic behaviour by political actors seeking to optimize their fortunes through electoral reform. The Party Politics of Electoral System Choice: Stacking the Deck in First-Wave Democracies delves into the strategic decisions behind electoral system choice, with a particular focus on the politics of containment and the design of new electoral systems. Our primary aim is to elucidate why and how political actors manipulate electoral systems in order to maintain or gain positions of power. We examine this through a comprehensive analysis of first-wave democracies, with a particular focus on the transition from majoritarian representation to proportional representation systems. This book would not have been possible without the support and contributions of many individuals and institutions. We extend our deepest gratitude to our colleagues and peers who provided insightful comments on various drafts of this manuscript. We thank (in alphabetical order) Lasse Aaskoven, Amel Ahmed, Klaus Armingeon, Michael Becher, Reto Bürgisser, Lukas Haffert, Philip J. Howe, Carl-Henrik Knutsen, Marcus Kreuzer, Patrick Kuhn, Lucas Leemann, Philip Manow, Isabela Mares, Georg Picot, Klaus Petersen, Magnus B. Rasmussen, Jan Rovny, Jack Santucci, Dominik Schraff, Jonathan Slapin, Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen, and Andreina Thoma. We are also grateful to Christian Bolliger, Ron de Jong, Thomas Ehrhard, Jasper Loots, Klaus Petersen, Christina Zuber, and Regula Zürcher for sharing data with us. We have presented earlier versions of our work at various conferences and workshops. We thank the participants in Bergen, Bern, Bruxelles, Glasgow, Konstanz, Lausanne, Luzern, Odense, Oslo, Prague, Seattle, St. Gallen, Zürich, and the 2021 virtual conference of the European Political Science Association. We appreciate all the constructive feedback and suggestions, and we apologize to all of those who we have forgotten to mention here. Rest assured that we are grateful for your support. We acknowledge the funding graciously provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation, which made this research possible (grants #:100017_184969 and #:201758). The contributions of our student research assistants were instrumental in the data collection and analysis stages. We thank Carmen Bauer, Theresa Berz, Christian Bruccoleri, Florence Caron, Alessio Di Giovanni, Hanna Engelhart, Mirjam Habenicht, Rahel Hollenstein, Sandro Lüscher, Christof Müller, Alessia Neuschwander, Julia Sifringer, Colin Stalder, Oona von Arx, and Linda Wanklin for their invaluable assistance. We thank our editor at Oxford University Press, Dominic Byatt, for his invaluable guidance and support as well as the reviewers for their insightful feedback. We also thank Phoebe Aldridge-Turner, Eloisa Harris, and Alyssa Taylor for their meticulous copy-editing of the manuscript. All translations of primary sources are ours (unless the statements were already translated in the sources we cite). The development of this book was a rigorous process involving extensive research, data collection, and theoretical refinement. We drew on previously published works to build a cohesive narrative and theoretical framework. Chapters 2, 3, and 8 build on ‘Disproportional Threat: Redistricting as an Alternative to Proportional Representation’, published in the Journal of Politics, 2021, 83(3), 917–933, doi:10.1086/711059, ‘Partisan Districting and the Adoption of Proportional Representation: Gerrymandering and its Discontents’, published in the European Political Science Review, 2024, 16(2), 187–206, doi:10.1017/S1755773923000267, and ‘When Dominant Parties Adopt Proportional Representation: The Mysterious Case of Belgium’, published in the European Political Science Review, 2019, 11(4), 433–450, doi:10.1017/S1755773919000225. Chapters 6 and 7 build on ‘Designing Electoral Districts for New Proportional Representation Systems: How Electoral Geography and Partisan Politics Constrain Proportionality and Create Bias’, published in the Journal of Politics, 2023, 85(3), 1123–1138, doi:10.1086/723975. We thank the European Consortium of Political Research (European Political Science Review) and the University of Chicago Press (Journal of Politics) for their permission to reprint this material. All rights are reserved. Last but not least, we would like to thank the people who mean the most to us. Patrick thanks Malena and Julius, who on more than one occasion have kept him from getting completely lost in work and helped him to see what is really important in life. He dedicates this book to them, with love. André dedicates the book to Katharina and Mathilda for their endless patience.