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Istanbul, Turkey
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Crossing the threshold – the Turkish election

There was a fair deal of shock in Turkey last weekend as the Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its...

Greek temple
Electoral Reform in Westminster

‘Reinforcing’ Syriza

Much excitement in the European press today as Greece’s left-wing, Eurosceptic and anti-austerity Syriza has come two seats short of an absolute...

Romania Palace of the Parliament
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Friends, Romanians, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Votes…

Turnout has been in the news once again, with a report from the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee advocating bank holidays on...

Nelson Mandela
Electoral Reform in Westminster

A true democrat

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Rivonia trial, and the sentencing of Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment...

Pyongyang North Korea Bronze statue
Electoral Reform in Westminster

North Korean elections: The veneer of democracy

This weekend the North Korean ‘election’ took place. Of course, it wasn’t exactly democratic; it wasn’t really even an election....

Women in Politics

A bold step forward for women’s representation

July 23, 2012

Ireland currently ranks 87 in the world for gender representation in politics with just 15.1% of Irish parliamentarians being women....

Eurovision
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Electoral Reform for Eurovision?

Eurovision is upon us once again with everyone’s favourite celebration of Europe’s questionable musical talent. Certain traditions will no doubt...

Voter Registration

Voter registration: lessons from the US

May 21, 2012

By Dr Toby S James, Swansea University In the 1980s American academics Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, alongside the...

Graphic of women
Women in Politics

Women’s legislative recruitment: no simple explanation, no single panacea

Rosie Campbell, Birkbeck University London & Sarah Childs, University of Bristol It is a widely held view that the first-past-the-post electoral system...