The effects of Institutional models on electoral participation and democracy in the former Soviet Bloc

Abstract

The political changes that have taken place in the nation-states that comprised the former Soviet Bloc have spawned several fledging democracies. However, electoral turnout has been rapidly declining since the inception of free elections in the cases under observation. The empirical analysis and research presented in this paper tests alternative explanations for variance in aggregate voter turnout rates among these emerging democracies. The intention is to understand what influences electoral participation, because of the fundamental role that participation plays in successful democratic transitions. The research finds that institutional and political system characteristics, such as the effective number of parties, politicized ethnic conflict, number of electoral districts, automatic registration and greater vote to legislative seat proportionality can increase voter turnout. Additionally, the analysis demonstrates that as the median age and age of detpocracy increase, voter turnout declines. This may be attributable to a growing resentment among citizens in these states over political trends that have reverted to authoritarianism, coupled with growing economic uncertainty.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2007

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Schraufnagel, Scot

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Political Science

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Democracy; Democracy -- Former communist countries; Voting; Voting -- Former communist countries

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0022714

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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