The politics of representation

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As societies have become ever more complex, coupled with the increased power of the media, electoral campaigns have become a key focus of political communication research. In this important new book, an international team of experts critically examines issues of democratic representation in three culturally diverse nations whose governments are elected under systems of proportional representation - New Zealand, Germany, and Italy. The authors examine the power plays at work in the development and implementation of proportional representation in their respective countries and they consider the ways in which the electoral system has impacted election campaign strategies. The final chapter by Douglas Kellner (George F. Kellner Philosophy of Education Chair, Social Sciences and Comparative Education, UCLA) relates the issue to contemporary politics in the United States by using the 2000 U.S. presidential election to investigate the ways in which democracy is served, and disserved, by the electoral system.