—Richard Albert, Boston College Law School
I-CONnect readers may be interested in a special issue of the peer-reviewed Election Law Journal on the subject of Electoral Reform in Constitutional Democracies, guest edited by Michael Pal (Ottawa) and me.
Mike and I observed a couple of years ago that countries across the globe were undergoing major electoral reforms that would have implications for the robustness of their democratic procedures and outcomes, and that could in many cases determine whether liberal constitutionalism survives in those jurisdictions.
To give these events the scholarly attention we thought they deserved, we organized a special issue featuring thirteen articles from expert scholars, each describing and evaluating major electoral reforms in a country or region. From Egypt to Italy, New Zealand to the Caribbean, Canada to Kenya and many jurisdictions in between, this special issue is both an introduction and a deep dive into the challenge and promise of electoral reform in the democratic world.
The special issue has just been published. All papers–including a thematic introduction written by U.S. election law expert Vik Amar (Illinois)–are available for a free period of 30 days at the homepage of the Election Law Journal.
The table of contents–along with direct links to the papers in PDF and HTML–are available below.
Electoral Reform in Constitutional Democracies
Guest Editors: Richard Albert and Michael Pal
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Introduction–The Stakes of Electoral Reform at Home and Abroad
 Vikram David Amar Citation | Full Text PDF or HTML | Reprints | Permissions | Download Metadata |
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The Deliberative Case for Constitutional Referenda
Ron Levy Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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From People’s Revolution to Partisan Reform: Recent Electoral Change in New Zealand
Andrew Geddis Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Lessons from Litigating for Reform
Nicholas Stephanopoulos Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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On the Nexus of Eternity Clauses, Proportional Representation, and Banned Political Parties
Rivka Weill Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Towards a Ius Commune on Elections in Europe? The Role of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters in “Harmonizing” Electoral Rights
Cristina Fasone, Giovanni Piccirilli Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Three Narratives About Canadian Election Law
Michael Pal Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Constitutional Reform in the Caribbean
Richard Albert Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Italian Electoral Law: A Story of an Impossible Transition?
Antonia Baraggia Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Military Electoral Authoritarianism in Egypt
Sahar F. Aziz Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Legalizing Politics: An Evaluation of Hong Kong’s Recent Attempt at Democratization
Cora Chan Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa from Kenya on Electoral Reforms: The Role and Limitations of the Law
Duncan Okubasu Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Electoral Reforms in Belgium’s Sixth State Reform: Historic Split of Electoral Constituency BHV, Reform of the Senate, and Coincident Elections
Jurgen Goossens Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
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Brazilian Legislators at Work: Constitutional Amendments as Electoral Strategy
Eneida Desiree Salgado Abstract | Full Text PDF or HTML |
