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Specifying the Cultural Foundations of Consensual Democratic Institutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2011

Charles Lockhart
Charles Lockhart
Affiliation:
Texas Christian University
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Extract

In his influential study of persistently democratic societies Lijphart (1999) argues for the general superiority of “consensus” over “majoritarian” institutions. Consensus institutions disperse power among distinct elements of a broad majority, while majoritarian institutions concentrate power in centralized institutions based on bare electoral majorities or pluralities. Lijphart finds that consensus institutions achieve levels of macroeconomic management and violence control similar to those of their majoritarian counterparts and perform considerably better representing various segments of society. In reflecting on his study, Lijphart offers the thought that highly effective consensus institutions would likely interact symbiotically with a “consensual political culture” (1999, 306). That is, Lijphart proposes that a consensual political culture, coupled with consensus institutions, would produce better government performance than consensus institutions. Yet he leaves the nature of such a culture unclear.

Type
Symposium
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , October 2011 , pp. 731 - 735
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2011

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