Australasian Political Studies Association Conference 2003
Hosted by the School of Government
University of Tasmania

Australian and New Zealand Politics Stream

The Global Spread of Preferential Voting: Australian
Institutional Imperialism?

Benjamin Reilly
Australian National University

Abstract:

In recent years, a number of different countries have adopted versions of the Australian electoral system of preferential voting for both national and sub-national elections. This article examines these various cases and patterns of the diffusion of preferential voting systems around the world. It distinguishes between various forms of preferential voting manifested in both majoritarian (eg alternative vote, contingent vote, supplementary vote) and proportional (eg single transferable vote) forms. It then examines the empirical record of the adoption of preferential voting systems in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific. In so doing, it identifies three distinct forms and sequences of institutional transfer that have served to export the Australian system to other countries, via colonial transfer; regional imitation; and normative appeal. While the first two approaches have been traditionally influential, in recent years the normative appeal of preferential voting systems has become paramount. This is in part because of the globalization of electoral and democracy assistance that has taken place since the fall of the Berlin Wall, which has provided an important opportunity for the diffusion of what have been, until recently, distinctively (Australian)‚ electoral procedures.