Leading scholars and election experts will mark the publication of the latest Journal of Democracy book, Electoral Systems and Democracy at a panel discussion on October 25, 2006 at 5:00 p.m. organized by the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC.
As the number of democracies has increased around the world, a heated debate has emerged among experts about which system best promotes the consolidation of democracy. Is proportional representation, a majoritarian system, a mixture of the two, or some other system the best for new democracies? Five of the contributors to this new volume, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, will discuss the lessons learned from recent experiments with diverse electoral systems. Panelists include Donald Horowitz, Andrew Reynolds, Richard Soudriette, and the book’s editors Larry Diamond, and Marc F. Plattner.
Larry Diamond is coeditor of the Journal of Democracy and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. From January to April 2004, he served as senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad.
Donald Horowitz is James B. Duke Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke University and author, most recently, of The Deadly Ethnic Riot (2001).
Marc F. Plattner (moderator) is coeditor of the Journal of Democracy, codirector of the International Forum for Democratic Studies, and vice-president at the National Endowment for Democracy.
Andrew Reynolds is associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has consulted on issues of electoral and constitutional design for a wide array of countries.
Richard Soudriette has been president of IFES (established as the International Foundation for Election Systems) since 1988.He is currently coauthoring a book on the importance of election management in advancing democracy.
Founded in 1990, the Journal of Democracy is an influential quarterly journal which focuses on analyzing democratic regimes and movements around the world. The Journal is a branch of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy, and is published by The Johns Hopkins University Press. Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner are its editors. Electoral Systems and Democracy is the nineteenth book in the Journal of Democracy series.
What: Panel Discussion: Electoral Systems and Democracy, what have we learned?
When: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Where: National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F Street, NW Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004
Who: Larry Diamond, Donald Horowitz, Marc F. Plattner, Andrew Reynolds, Richard Soudriette
Media Registration: jane@ned.org
