Duverger in Israel

Michael Sean Covey

Blog 7

Duverger’s Law

            Maurice Duverger hypothesized that proportional representation rules produce multi-party systems, whereas single member district plurality (SMDP) rules produce two effective parties (1). Or in other words, the number of political parties in a given district is a function of the electoral rules. This hypothesis has now been called Duverger’s Law, and the current State of Israel is a great example that shows this law holding true.

            The State of Israel proves Duverger’s Law because it is evident that their multi-party system stems from their proportional representation (PR) rules.  They have a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature, called the Knesset, which is made up of 120 members elected on four-year terms (3). These members are elected by nationwide proportional representation, meaning that the entire state of Israel is one voting district and one constituency—there are not separate district constituencies like in the United States Senate, where each state receives two senators (5). Therefore, parliamentary seats in Israel are given to parties in proportion to how many votes each party wins. Israel also has a closed, non-preferential list structure, which means that citizens vote for parties, not for specific candidates. For example, in the 2009 elections, the Likud Party won 22% of the national vote and so they received 22% of the seats in the Knesset (2).  Israel is a straight PR system and not a hybrid system, and like in most other PR systems, parties in Israel usually have to form coalitions in order to win a majority of seats (61 out of 120) and form the government.  In 2009, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party formed a coalition with the Yisrael Beiteinu, Labor, and Shas parties to combine for 66 seats, which then allowed them to set up the current government. Israel’s PR rules naturally produce a strong multi-party system (2).

            Israel also has a low voting threshold of 2%, which means that a party only needs at least 2% of the national vote to receive a seat in government (5). This low threshold allows small parties and minority groups to be heard, such as the Arab parties. In 2009, the United Arab List-Ta’al party met the threshold with 3% of the vote, so they won 3% of the seats.  On the other hand, The Green Movement-Meimad party did not win any seats in parliament because they did not meet the required threshold—they only got about 1% of the vote (2). Smaller parties are also allowed to form coalitions in order to meet the 2% threshold, similar to the way in which larger parties form coalitions to win a majority in the government. These rules encourage many parties to run for office and show that Duverger’s Law holds true.

            Using the formula we learned in class (1 divided by the sum of the squares of the proportion of seats won for each party), Israel’s number of effective parties is 6.77. This shows that there are many influential political parties in Israel, not just two like in the United States. In the most recent 2009 Knesset elections, for example, there were 33 registered parties on the ballot, 12 of which met the threshold and received at least a few seats in parliament (4)(2).  

            In conclusion, the State of Israel is a solid example of Duverger’s Law holding true.  Israel’s proportional representation rules naturally produce a strong multi-party system. Their single constituency, low threshold, and ability to form coalitions encourage many parties to run and allow many voices to be heard.

           

             

 Works Cited:

  (1) “Duverger’s Laws: Between social and institutional determinism.” Da Silva, Virgilio Afonso. European Journal of Political Research. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. http://web.ebscohost.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hid=119&sid=7de277d6-bc28-4e0c-b9b5-75c0dd5378f0%40sessionmgr112

  (2) Knesset Board of Elections. Israeli Government. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. http://www.knesset.gov.il/elections18/heb/results/main_Results.aspx

  (3) “Israel.” CIA World Factbook. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html

  (4) “34 Parties Make Knesset Bid.” Miskin, Maayana. Arutz Sheva News. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129127#.UJNkCu2JtUQ

  (5) “The Electoral System in Israel.” The Knesset. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. http://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_beh.htm