Ein Policy-Zyklus der Wahlrechtsreform: Direkt gewählte Regierungschefs in Israel und der Türkei im Vergleich

Abstract

AbstractIn studying electoral reforms, the democratic context is often a neglected variable. Israel and Turkey, at different times with different levels of democracy, have implemented a similar reform, the direct election of the chief executive. While there were similar justifications at the time of the introduction, the reforms then took on different dynamics. In Israel the reform was reversed, while in Turkey it became the centrepiece of further autocratisation. Adapting a framework of policy-analysis, the article explores similarities and differences in both cases. It argues that the democratic environment turns out as an important factor to explain the different trajectories of seemingly similar policy reforms in both cases. While the reverse reform in the Israeli case is linked to advantages in processing expert and civil society information, the trajectory in the Turkish case is based on the different power structure in the course of presidentialisation. Applying a comparative policy analysis to these cases of electoral reform, the article concludes that the democratic environment, that is, the degree of freely available information, helps explaining the different trajectories in both cases.