Electoral Systems, Party Competition, and Strength of Partisan Attachment: Evidence from Three Countries

This article brings together the literatures on individual voting behavior and on the effect of electoral systems. While most students of tactical voting stress the link between voter choice and electoral systems, we argue that electoral systems shape not just the incentives of vote choice, but also have an impact on the deeper psychology of attachment to political parties. We argue that party identification is shaped not just by personal factors but also, and perhaps more importantly, by party and electoral systems. We present evidence from three countries--Australia, Canada, and Germany--consistent with our argument.