Electoral quotas and political representation: Comparative perspectives

Abstract

Electoral quotas have emerged as one of the critical political reforms of the last two decades, affecting a wide range of representative processes. However, the evidence is not yet conclusive with regard to what quotas 'mean' more broadly, either for politics at large or for the empowerment of group members. Taking up this challenge, this special issue brings together articles that collectively expand the current research agenda to theorise and assess the wider impact of electoral quotas. A unifying theme is the use of comparative research strategies to illuminate dynamics indicating the possibilities and limits of what quotas can achieve. This introductory article reviews the existing literature and then details the research strategies and theoretical and empirical findings of the articles that follow, concluding with directions for future research and implications of this work for connecting central debates within political science.

Long-term impacts of parliamentary gender quotas in a single-party system: Symbolic co-option or delayed integration?

“…As the majority of countries now have some kind of parliamentary gender quota (Paxton and Hughes, 2015), researchers have studied their causes and consequences in two waves of scholarship (e.g. Krook and Zetterberg, 2014). First, they have examined the adoption and implementation of different types of gender quotas (i.e.…”

Fifty Years ofRepresentative and Responsible Government:Contemporary Relevance, Theoretical Revisions and Conceptual Reflection

“…Similarly, the numbers of Ôelectoral consumersÕ have increased with incremental reductions in the age of voting in many states since 1964. Alongside this quantitative expansion there have also been moves towards qualitative enhancement of the representative process through recognition of the descriptive claims of previously underrepresented social and identity groups, and practical programmes to increase their presence in public representative institutions (see Hughes et al 2015;Krook and Zetterberg 2014;Krook and Norris 2014 xx;Bird 2014;xx).…”

Minority Representation and Reserved Legislative Seats in Iraqi Kurdistan

“…Over 30 countries currently reserve legislative seats for minority groups (Htun, 2004; King & Marian, 2012), whether based on race, nationality, religion, language, caste, age, or ability. According to MonaKrook and Zetterberg (2014), this method establishes a minimum level of group representation, providing stronger assurances of representation than similarly intentioned gender quotas. The main distinction between examples of minority-reserved seats is that they tend to have one of two goals.…”

“…Additionally, as a result of the reserved seat system, the incumbent National Resistance Movement Party received 3 percent more seats in the legislature than would have been the case without the system. Other existing literature on minority-reserved seats has focused upon issues including: the relationship between reserved seats filled through competitive elections, political parties, and substantive minority representation (Zuber, 2015); the wider impact of electoral quotas (Krook & Zetterberg, 2014); and the validity of the claim to the protection and recognition offered by a reserved place. The political consequences of the broad allocation of reserved seats among many small ethnic minorities have also been examined (King & Marian, 2012).…”