Japan, Italy and New Zealand changed their electoral systems to similar (though also significantly different) mixed systems combining single-member districts and proportional representation in the early 1990s. I examine the reasons for these three reforms being enacted, showing that while common symptoms of system failures were important in setting the three reform movements in motion in like fashion, they were not compelling enough to push reluctant politicians to enact reform. Other country-specific factors were needed to intervene and force them to take action. Japan's reform was enacted without the imposition of the popular referendum that occurred in Italy and New Zealand, but was made possible by changes in the nature of party competition that favourably altered political parties' incentives to reform. The change was brought about by the presence of pro-reformers within the dominant party and the relative coincidence between reform and the interests of parties.
Bull, Martin J. and James L. Newell (1993) `Italian Politics and the 1992 Elections: From “Stable Instability” to Instability and Change', Parliamentary Affairs46: 203-227.
5.
Christensen, Raymond V. (1994) `Electoral Reform in Japan: How it was Enacted and Changes it may Bring', Asian Survey34: 589-605.
6.
Collier, David (1995) `Translating Quantitative Methods for Qualitative Researcher: The Case of Selection Bias', American Political Science Review89: 461-466.
7.
Donovan, Mark (1995) `The Politics of Electoral Reform in Italy', International Political Science Review16, 47-64.
8.
Dunleavy, Patrick and Helen Margetts (1995) `Understanding the Dynamics of Electoral Reform', International Political Science Review16: 9-29.
9.
Duverger, Maurice (1954) Political Parties. New York: Wiley.
10.
Fukui, Haruhiro (1978) `Japan: Factionalism in a Dominant Party System', in Frank P. Belloni and Dennis C. Beller (eds) Faction Politics, pp. 43-72. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.
11.
Gallagher, Michael (1998) `The Political Impact of Electoral System Change in Japan and New Zealand 1996', Party Politics4: 203-228.
12.
Grofman, Bernard , ed. (1990) Political Gerrymandering and the Courts. New York: Agathon Press.
13.
Grofman, Bernard and Arend Lijphart, eds (1986) Electoral Laws and their Political Consequences. New York: Agathon Press.
14.
Hirose, Michisada (1989) Seiji to kane. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
15.
Iseri, Hirofumi (1988) Habatsu saihensei: Jiminto seiji no omote to ura. Tokyo: Chuo Koron-sha.
Ishikawa, Masumi and Michisada Hirose (1989) Jiminto: Choki shihai no kozo. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
18.
Kabashima, Ikuo (1992) `89-nen saninsen: Jimin taihai to shakai taisho no kozu', Leviathan10: 7-31.
19.
Kabashima, Ikuo (1994) `Shinto no tojo to jiminto ittoyuitaisei no hokai', Leviathan15: 7-31.
20.
Katz, Richard S. (1980) A Theory of Parties and Electoral Systems. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
21.
King, Gary , Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
22.
Knight, Jack (1992) Institutions and Social Conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23.
Lehoucq, Fabrice Edouard (1995) `Institutional Change and Political Conflict: Evaluating Alternative Explanations of Electoral Reform in Costa Rica', Electoral Studies14: 23-45.
24.
Lijphart, Arend (1994) Electoral Systems and Party Systems: A Study of Twenty-Seven Democracies 1945-1990. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nagel, Jack H. (1994) `What Political Scientists can Learn from the 1993 Electoral Reform in New Zealand', PS: Political Science & Politics27: 525-529.
27.
Norris, Pippa (1995a) `Introduction: The Politics of Electoral Reform', International Political Science Review16: 3-8.
28.
Norris, Pippa (1995b) `The Politics of Electoral Reform in Britain', International Political Science Review16: 65-78.
Pasquino, Gianfranco (1993) `Introduction: A Case of Regime Crisis', in Pasquino and McCarthy (eds), pp. 1-11.
33.
Pasquino, Gianfranco and Patrick McCarthy, eds (1993) The End of Post-War Politics in Italy: The Landmark 1992 Elections. Boulder, CO: Westview.
34.
Rae, Douglas W. (1967) The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
35.
Reed, Steven R. (1996) `A Story of Three Booms: From the New Liberal Club to the Hosokawa Coalition Government', Leviathan18: 61-70.
36.
Sani, Giacomo (1993) `The Anatomy of Change', in Pasquino and McCarthy (eds), pp. 108-20.
37.
Shiratori, Rei (1995) `The Politics of Electoral Reform in Japan', International Political Science Review16: 79-94.
38.
Shugart, Matthew Soberg (1992) `Leaders, Rank and File, and Constituents: Electoral Reform in Columbia and Venezuela', Electoral Studies11: 21-45.
39.
Taagepera, Rein and Matthew Soberg Shugart (1989) Seats and Votes: The Effects and Determinants of Electoral Systems. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
40.
Vowles, Jack (1995) `The Politics of Electoral Reform in New Zealand', International Political Science Review16: 95-115.
41.
Weaver, R. Kent and Bert A. Rockman, eds (1993) Do Institutions Matter?: Government Capabilities in the United States and Abroad. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
