Name: Comparative Constitutional Engineering: Second Edition
Price: 749.00 ZAR
Availability: InStock
Author: Giovanni Sartori
ISBN: 9780814780633

portada Comparative Constitutional Engineering: Second Edition

Comparative Constitutional Engineering: Second Edition

Type

Physical Book

Author

Giovanni Sartori

Publisher

New York Univ Pr

Year

1997

Language

English

Pages

229

Format

Paperback

Weight

ISBN

0814780636

ISBN13

9780814780633

Edition No.

Synopsis "Comparative Constitutional Engineering: Second Edition "

The second edition of this pathbreaking, highly innovative comparative study in state-building by a major political scientist is a fully updated examination of the problems of making democratic government work. Sartori begins by assessing electoral systems. He attacks the conventional wisdom that their influence cannot be predicted and also disputes the view that proportional representation is always best and will deliver 'consensus democracy'. He argues that the double-ballot formulas deserve more consideration for their ability to facilitate governability in adverse circumstances. His comparative assessment of presidential and semi-presidential systems and the variety of formulas that are categorized, sometimes misleadingly, as parliamentary, looks at the conditions that allow a political form to perform as intended. He concludes with a detailed proposal for a new type of government: alternating presidentialism. This meets the need for strong parliamentary control and efficient government, with safeguards against both parliamentary obstructionism and government by decree, and so could help to avoid political paralysis in Latin America, in the post-communist countries of Europe and in countries with dysfunctional parliamentary systems such as Italy and Israel.

Giovanni Sartori

(Author)

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Giovanni Sartori (Florence, May 13, 1924 - Rome, April 4, 2017) was a prominent Italian political scientist specialized in democracy theory, party systems, and comparative politics. He graduated in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Florence in 1946 and later taught at various academic institutions, including Stanford University and Columbia University, where he held the Albert Schweitzer Chair in Humanities.

Among his most influential works are "Parties and Party Systems" (1976), "The Theory of Democracy" (1987), and "Homo Videns: The Teledirected Society" (1997). These works, belonging to the genre of political science, have been fundamental for the study of democracy and communication in contemporary society. In recognition of his academic contribution, Sartori received the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences in 2005.

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