The
Democracy Design Forum is a consultancy on problems of democracy, especially
concerning the electoral system.
Research
is being carried out on new designs of electoral system, with the objective of
achieving more stable and responsive government, especially in situations of
ethnic division in the electorate.
A
series of papers has been produced (see below), and further papers will shortly
be available. For instance, from a UK perspective, there are papers on
electoral systems designed to deal with the communal division in Northern
Ireland, and on proposals for a PR electoral system that meets Tony Blair's
requirements that the MP's link to a geographical constituency should be
preserved, and that minor parties should not hold the balance of power.
The
Democracy Design Forum has given consultancy advice for the new democracies of
Central and Eastern Europe. Its handbook Can Civil Wars be Avoided? (also translated into Slovakian) put forward
proposals for new forms of electoral system to protect ethnic minorities. It
helped organise conferences, under the aegis of the Swiss foreign affairs department,
the Maltese government and the Council of Europe, for politicians and academics
from the newly emerging democracies.
The Democracy Design Forum also organises an e-mail
discussion group on alternative electoral systems. An archive of papers which have
so far been circulated to the group, is given below.
New electoral
systems to protect the ethnic minority
Two Electoral
Systems for Westminster
Reforming the
tax and benefit system to reduce unemployment
A review of
Consensual Electoral Systems
The Territorial
Additional-Member System: An electoral system proposed for the European
Parliament and Westminster
National Alternative Vote
An Electoral System for Iraq
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Condorcet election of the government party. (Paper
from J. Stanyer and G. Stoker, Contemporary Political Studies 1997, volume 1,
Political Studies Association 1997.) £3
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Negotiating a compromise in Northern Ireland: the Team
Referendum procedure (seeks to generate a constitution acceptable to both
communities). June 1996. £3
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A proposal for Security Council reform and for a
separate UN executive: an approach to the democratisation of the UN. December
1995. £4
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Subsidiarity and its funding: financing local
government in a progressively decentralising democracy. February 1995. £2
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Converting the European Community into a democratic
federation. October 1994. £4
Democracy Design Forum, Coles
House, Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3EB, UK
Tel [int. 44] (0)1449 736 223
Fax [int. 44] (0)1449 612 274
e-mail: chapman@democdesignforum.demon.co.uk