Conclusion

Abstract This concluding chapter summarizes the main findings and discusses the key implications. We argue that existing approaches are insufficient at explaining the process of preference formation towards electoral reform, the introduction of proportional representation (PR), and the specific design of the adopted PR systems. Instead, we maintain that our approach is better suited to account for the cross-national and temporal variation in electoral reforms. Most notably, we argue that the combination of Rokkan’s two roads to electoral reform is productive, especially if this combination takes the endogeneity of electoral markets seriously. In addition, we discuss the implications of our theory for current electoral reforms in both established and emerging democracies. At a more theoretical level, we argue that democratization is best thought of as a gradual process that involves a considerable amount of manipulation and conflict.