A Study Of Classification And Comparison Of Electoral Systems In European Union Nations

The research object of this dissertation is electoral systems in European Union(EU) nations. The research purpose of this dissertation is that based on the classification and comparison of electoral systems in twenty-seven EU member states, the design of electoral system should be put emphasis on in order to build up modern democracy. And the research methodology of this dissertation is comparative analysis as a mode of analysis at macroscopic level as well as literature study, case study and mixing-qualitative-and-quantitative study as research tools at microcosmic level. In addition, through a literature review it can be found that this dissertation is one of the few works specializing in electoral systems in EU nations at home and abroad.The electoral system is a cornerstone of modern democracy, and the definition of electoral system includes three factors, namely constituency magnitude, ballot structure and electoral formula, among which electoral formula, especially election rule and representation principle, is the core of electoral system. An ideal type of electoral system is highly democratic, efficient and low-cost.The eleven varieties of electoral systems in EU nations can be classified from multi-angle, and under a new method of classification with the election rule as the criterion, they can be classified into three categories, namely leader(s) election systems, quota election systems and mixed systems.Through the comparison of electoral systems in EU nations, we can find that quota election systems are dominant in EU nations, among which list proportional representation(List PR) and two-round system(TRS) are the most popular in parliamentary elections and presidential elections of EU nations respectively. Apart from that, throughout the world Spain is the only country to put the election of parliament or either chamber of parliament under limited vote(LV), and it is also unique and distinctive to adopt alternative vote(AV) in Irish presidential election and seat-linked mixed system(SMS) in Romanian election of both chambers of parliament.The proposals in principle concerning the design of electoral system are as follows. Firstly, in theory, every variety of electoral system has its advantages and disadvantages, and there doesn't exist the best one. Secondly, in practice, the design of electoral system needs to be in accordance with the national situation and the trend of electoral system reform in the world. Finally, when designing the electoral system, we should be persistent in the theoretical innovation and constantly practical improvement.To sum up, in the first part of this dissertation, it expounds the research object, research purpose, research methodology and literature review. In the second part, based on the three dimensions of democracy, efficiency and cost, nine criteria for evaluating electoral systems are put forward in order to construct a theoretical basis for comparing advantages and disadvantages of electoral systems in the following parts. In the third part, the eleven varieties of electoral systems in EU nations are classified from multi-angle according to factors in the definition of electoral system, and a new method of classification with the election rule as the criterion is given prominence to. In the fourth, fifth and sixth part, a comparative analysis on principles, advantages and disadvantages as well as cases of electoral systems in EU nations is made under the new method of classification, which is the main body of this dissertation. In the seventh part, based on the classification and comparison of electoral systems in EU nations above, the proposals in principle concerning the design of electoral system are presented as the conclusion of this dissertation.