A Short History of Electoral Systems in Western Europe

This book provides a concise and accessible account of the historical experience of European parliaments ¿ why different electoral systems were adopted, how they have functioned, how they have affected the development of political parties, and in what respects they have been found over time to be either suitable or unsatisfactory. The core of the book, is a country-by-country account of the systems which have operated in each of the main West European countries, in the context of their own constitutional, political and social developments.