Duverger's Law is Working in Italy

In 1993, Italy adopted an electoral system based largely on single-member districts (SMD) based, at least in part, on the hope that SMDs would lead to a two-party system and alternation in government. That idea is known in political science as Duverger's law. The overwhelming consensus among sp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative political studies 2001-04, Vol.34 (3), p.312-327
Main Author: REED, STEVEN R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comparative politics
Cross-national analysis
Districts
Elections
Electoral systems
Italy
Political Development
Political Parties
Political science
Political Science Theories
Political Systems
Proportional representation
Single-member constituencies
Two-party systems
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Summary:In 1993, Italy adopted an electoral system based largely on single-member districts (SMD) based, at least in part, on the hope that SMDs would lead to a two-party system and alternation in government. That idea is known in political science as Duverger's law. The overwhelming consensus among specialists in Italian politics would appear to be that Duverger's law is not working very well in Italy. I will argue, to the contrary, that Duverger's law is working exactly as should have been expected. Although one may see little evidence of movement toward a two-party system at the national level, between the 1994 and 1996 elections, more than 80% of electoral districts moved closer to bipolar competition between two candidates. A dynamic analysis of electoral districts confirms the powerful operation of Duverger's law in Italy.
ISSN:0010-4140
1552-3829
DOI:10.1177/0010414001034003004