"Democratic constitutional engineering is tricky, yet
consequential, nowadays more than ever. I can hardly think of a
better proof of this double assertion than the one provided by the
latest book by Giovanni Sartori, possibly the most astute and
passionate student of constitutional engineering . . . Mine is an
invitation to read the book, indeed to unwrap and savor it. Rarely
has constitutional engineering been more salient to the future of
expanding democracy."
--G. DiPalma, "The Review of Politics"
"Delightfully written, this monograph will be a staple of
courses on comparative constitutional design . . . I can think of
no better example of contemporary political "engineering" than
this, and it is precisely this product of research that students of
comparative politics must attempt."
--Peter C. Ordeshook, "Political Science Quarterly"
"Despite the seemingly endless volume of literature on
democratic institutions, no text even comes close to formulating
the kind of comprehensive and critical synthesis one finds in this
elegant new book by Sartori."
--P. Vannicelli, "Los Angeles Monthly"
"Giovanni Sartori, internationally recognized political
scientist, has written a pathbreaking, highly innovative
comparative study of state building."
--"The Commentator"
"The last book of Giovanni Sartori is a beautiful work that
ranks among his very best writings. It is very concise, for it
deals only with essentials, and yet covers all the basics of his
subject matter; and Sartori always takes a crystal-clear stand on
the many controversies that he covers."
--G. Bognetti, "Il Sole/24 Ore"
The second edition of this pathbreaking, highly innovative
comparative study instate-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.
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