Neutralizing electoral threats in MR systems

Abstract This chapter offers empirical evidence on how established parties used containment measures to reduce electoral threats by insurgent parties. At the turn of the century, Western countries underwent a significant process of industrialization that was accompanied by considerable internal migration movements. This shift of the geographical distribution of voters to urban and industrial centres laid the ground for the emergence of socialist parties. However, if districts were not adapted for shifts in the population, these internal migration movements also led to malapportionment. Unsurprisingly, district design proved to be contentious in all countries because redistricting was typically in the hands of political parties, which faced incentives to introduce partisan biases to decrease the election prospects of insurgent (often socialist) candidates. In addition, this chapter explores how established parties resorted to electoral alliances to neutralize electoral threats originating from insurgent parties.