Abstract
This chapter assesses the evidence for the proposition that electoral systems have reproduced male dominance in Central and Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism. There are several notable findings. First, the type of electoral system matters, with proportional representation systems marginally less effective in sustaining male dominance over time than mixed systems. Second, ballot structure also matters, but not in the direction that would have been expected given that post-communist electorates are rather conservative in their views of gender roles. Instead, it is clear that open-list systems can challenge rather than reproduce male dominance. Finally, the reform of electoral system from proportional to mixed systems does not increase the levels of men’s over-representation in politics, while a reduction in the size of the legislature can trigger a re-assertion of men’s ‘incumbency advantage’.
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Notes
- 1.
In 2012, 79 of the 394 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 39 of the 176 seats in the Senate were surplus seats. By comparison, in 2008 only one surplus seat was allocated.
- 2.
The data are as follows: 15 of the 15 women elected in individual constituencies in 1994, 5 of the 12 women elected in individual constituencies in 1998, 10 of the 13 women elected in individual constituencies in 2002 and 12 of the 15 women elected in individual constituencies in 2006 were from MSZP. The source for the data is my own database, compiled on the basis of the information from the website of the Hungarian National Assembly (www.parlament.hu) and the Central Electoral Office (www.valasztas.hu).
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Chiva, C. (2018). Reproducing Male Dominance: The Role of Electoral Systems. In: Gender, Institutions and Political Representation. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-01177-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-01177-0_5
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