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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Electoral Systems and Democracy is the eighteenth volume in the Jour-nal of Democracy book series, which was launched in 1993. During our long partnership with the John Hopkins University Press, we have pub-lished books focusing on democracy in every region of the world. Other Journal of Democracy books have addressed democracy’s relation to many key thematic issues, including world religions, economic reform, civil-military relations, political parties, and nationalism. This newest book focuses on electoral systems, an essential democratic institution that can have a major impact on the functioning and consolidation of democracy. The chapters in this volume have been grouped into three sections: The first considers the variety of electoral systems worldwide and their advantages and drawbacks; the second focuses more precisely on the debate over the strengths and weaknesses of proportional repre-sentation (PR); and the third consists of a series of case studies that illuminate the consequences of differing electoral systems in Southern Africa, Latin America, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Unlike some other Journal of Democracy books, this one is not drawn from papers prepared for a major conference on the topic. The Journal has always had a strong interest in institutional questions in general, and in electoral systems in particular. Our articles on this subject, in-cluding several of those included here, date all the way back to 1991, and we have continued to grapple with it ever since. Most recently, in the April 2006 issue, the Journal featured a cluster of four essays on electoral systems, and these too are included in the present volume. Thus this book has been some sixteen years in the making, and it en-compasses not only the latest thinking on the topic, but also a number of now classic essays by some of the world’s most eminent political scientists. Sadly, two of the senior scholars whose contributions appear in these pages, Ken Gladdish and Quentin L. Quade, have since passed away.

As the essays collected here span so long a time frame, they have benefited from the editorial contributions of a host of staff members and interns who have worked at the Journal over the years. Foremost among them has been our long-time executive editor Phil Costopoulos, who, except for a brief hiatus, has been with the Journal since its founding. Other members of the current editorial team, including Anja Havedalù (who is about to depart for a position in Afghanistan), Sumi Shane, and Zerxes Spencer, all had a hand in editing some of these essays when they first appeared in the Journal, and they were joined by our manag-ing editor Sarah Bloxham and new assistant editor Eric Kramon in proof-reading this volume. This is Sarah’s first Journal of Democracy book, and she has done a superb job of handling its production, displaying a remarkable ability to maintain her calm demeanor even as publishing deadlines rapidly approach.

Finally, we are pleased to recognize once again those who have been steadfast in encouraging and supporting our work. The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation has continued to provide invaluable financial as-sistance. The board of directors of the National Endowment for Democ-racy and its president, Carl Gershman, have always given us their full backing. Our long and fruitful relationship with the Johns Hopkins University Press extends both to its journals division, where we work closely with Carol Hamblen and Bill Breichner, and to its book divi-sion, where we continue to benefit from the advice and expertise of executive editor Henry Tom, the guiding spirit behind the Journal of Democracy book series.