Patterns of democracy : government forms and performance in thirty-six countries /
Arend Lijphart.
- 2nd ed.
- New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, c2012.
- 348 p. ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Introduction -- 2. The Westminster model of democracy -- 3. The consensus model of democracy -- 4. Thirty-six democracies -- 5. Party systems: two party and multiparty patterns -- 6. Cabinets: concentration versus sharing of executive power -- 7. Executive-legislative relations: patterns of dominance and balance of power -- 8. Electoral systems: majority and plurality methods versus proportional representation -- 9. Interest groups: pluralism versus corporatism -- 10. Division of power: the federal-unitary and centralized-decentralized contrasts -- 11. Parliament and congresses: concentration versus division of legislative power -- 12. Constitutions: amendment procedures and judicial review -- 13. Central banks: independence versus dependence -- 14. The two-dimensional conceptual map of democracy -- 15. Effective government and policy-making: does consensus democracy make a difference? -- 16. The quality of democracy and a "kinder, gentler" democracy: consensus democracy makes a difference.
In this updated and expanded edition of his classic text, Arend Lijphart offers a broader and deeper analysis of worldwide democratic institutions than ever before. Examining thirty-six democracies during the period from 1945 to 2010, Lijphart arrives at important and unexpected conclusions about what type of democracy works best.