Download or read book A Short History of Electoral Systems in Western Europe written by Andrew McLaren Carstairs and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 book begins with a summary of the main electoral systems, analysing and re-assessing each in the light of historical experience. The core of the book, however, 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.