TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ganghof, Steffen
A1  - Eppner, Sebastian
T1  - Patterns of accountability and representation
T2  - Politics
N2  - Arend Lijphart uses an average of five standardized variables – the executive-parties dimension (EPD) – to describe patterns of democracy and explain differences in democracies’ performance. The article suggests ways to improve the descriptive part of the project. It argues that the EPD maps different approaches to achieving accountability and representation, rather than differences in consensus. This re-conceptualization leads to a more coherent and valid measurement. It is also argued that more systematic adjustments are needed for differences in constitutional structures (presidentialism and bicameralism). The article presents data on a revised EPD and its components for 36 democracies in the period from 1981 to 2010. As to the explanatory part of the project, we contend that the EPD often hinders adequate causal analysis rather than facilitating it. We show this by re-analysing democracies’ performance with respect to turnout and capital punishment.
KW  - bicameralism
KW  - consensus democracy
KW  - death penalty
KW  - democratic performance
KW  - effective district magnitude
KW  - executive-parties dimension
KW  - turnout
Y1  - 2017
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/50358
SN  - 0263-3957
SN  - 1467-9256
VL  - 39
IS  - 1
SP  - 113
EP  - 130
PB  - Sage Publ.
CY  - London
ER  -