Elections Before Democracy

This book examines various aspects of electoral history in Europe and Latin America, from the late 17th century to 1930. Although the focus is on individual countries, this book also provides a stimulating text on comparative electoral history by looking at electoral culture and traditions, electoral participation, electoral fraud, the role of elections in the process of nation-building, and the role of important institutions, such as the Church, in shaping political values and therefore electoral behaviour. It brings together fresh research from various area specialists, offering alternative views to the understanding of elections in pre-modern, pre-democratic societies. Finally, it attempts to show that electoral practices and institutions, however imperfect, were a necessary pre-condition for the development of representative forms of government. There are chapters devoted to the experiences in Europe of England, Germany, Ireland, and Spain, while the Latin American case-studies include Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico.