The perils of plurality rule in democratic presidential systems: A replication and extension

Abstract

Recent research suggests that country-years where presidents won their previous election with an absolute majority are more likely to be associated with high government respect for human rights, in comparison to country-years where presidents won their previous election by a mere plurality. With this follow-up article, I replicate these findings with a greatly expanded dataset, and I explore whether country-years where presidents have been elected using a majoritarian system are more likely to be associated with high government respect for human rights, in comparison to country-years where presidents have been elected using a non-majoritarian system. Ultimately, I find that not only are presidents elected with a plurality associated with comparatively lower levels of human rights respect, but so are presidents elected via a non-majoritarian system. These findings suggest that policymakers seeking to improve human rights practices may want to consider directing their efforts towards promoting electoral reform with an emphasis on mandating a minimum of a majority in order to win an election.