THE PROJECT VOLUME - Chapter 7

Open Cite VOLUME

Publisher:  Pragma Publishing
Online publication date:  December 2023
Chapter DOI:  https://doi.org/10.62483/87045204

How Political Institutions Affect the Conflicts of Duty and Prudence Facing Democratic Voters

Attila Mráz and Annabelle Lever

ABSTRACT

Voters in European democracies regularly face ethical conflicts in deciding whether to vote, and if so, how. Some of these conflicts are unique to - and most are vastly shaped by - local political, social, or economic contexts. However, the kinds of ethical conflict voters face, as well as their severity, also depend on how electoral institutions in which voters make their choices are designed. This chapter surveys those features of electoral institutions which play a significant role in shaping European voters’ ethical conflicts. More specifically, the present chapter has the following two objectives:

  1. To describe, using the voter-centric framework we have developed in the REDEM project, those ethical conflicts that are created or shaped by the particularities of a given electoral system or electoral institution;
  2. To generate and analyse corresponding scenarios to illustrate these conflicts, based on real-world testimonies of voters.

While the chapter builds on empirical, descriptive findings concerning various electoral institutions, its purpose is to provide a normative map of the various issues that could arise in different empirical circumstances. It does not aim to solve ethical dilemmas or resolve conflicts of duty or moral reasons on voters’ behalf. Instead, the chapter supports decision-making in two ways. First, it offers considerations for voters to take into account in exercising their democratic rights - and their franchise, in particular. Second, it offers considerations for decision-makers to consider when designing electoral institutions.

Citation
Mráz, Attila, and Annabelle Lever. 2023. ‘How Political Institutions Affect the Conflicts of Duty and Prudence Facing Democratic Voters’. In Reconstructing Democracy in Times of Crisis - A Voter-Centred Perspective, ed. Annabelle Lever. Paris: Pragma Publishing, 217–44. https://doi.org/10.62483/87045204.
Mráz, A., & Lever, A. (2023). How Political Institutions Affect the Conflicts of Duty and Prudence Facing Democratic Voters. In A. Lever (Ed.), Reconstructing Democracy in Times of Crisis—A Voter-Centred Perspective (pp. 217–244). Pragma Publishing. https://doi.org/10.62483/87045204
Mráz, Attila, and Annabelle Lever. 2023. ‘How Political Institutions Affect the Conflicts of Duty and Prudence Facing Democratic Voters’. In Reconstructing Democracy in Times of Crisis - A Voter-Centred Perspective, edited by Annabelle Lever, 217–44. Paris: Pragma Publishing. https://doi.org/10.62483/87045204.
Mráz, A. and Lever, A. (2023) ‘How Political Institutions Affect the Conflicts of Duty and Prudence Facing Democratic Voters’, in A. Lever (ed.) Reconstructing Democracy in Times of Crisis - A Voter-Centred Perspective. Paris: Pragma Publishing, pp. 217–244. Available at: https://doi.org/10.62483/87045204.
Mráz, Attila, and Annabelle Lever, ‘How Political Institutions Affect the Conflicts of Duty and Prudence Facing Democratic Voters’, in Reconstructing Democracy in Times of Crisis - A Voter-Centred Perspective, ed. by Annabelle Lever (Paris: Pragma Publishing, 2023), pp. 217–44 <https://doi.org/10.62483/87045204>
Mráz, Attila, and Annabelle Lever. ‘How Political Institutions Affect the Conflicts of Duty and Prudence Facing Democratic Voters’. Reconstructing Democracy in Times of Crisis - A Voter-Centred Perspective, edited by Annabelle Lever, Pragma Publishing, 2023, pp. 217–44, https://doi.org/10.62483/87045204.
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