Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows that countries with proportional/multiparty systems are innovators on a wide range of policies, including areas such as extending same-sex rights and protecting the environment. It examines that countries with less-proportional/fewer party systems are more susceptible to pandering and thus tend to pursue more quick-fix policies that lead to outcomes such as higher incarceration rates and more surveillance of their citizens. The book also shows that proportional/multiparty systems help societies constrain 'extractive elites' by increasing the capacity of societies to pass policies that challenge the interests of those elites. It also examines whether some democratic designs do more to enhance a society's ability to solve policy problems. The book presents the distinction between democracy and authoritarianism and whether some democratic institutions are better than others at enhancing openness and protecting dissent.