Territorial self-governance and proportional representation: reducing the risk of territory-centred intrastate violence. Issue 4 (4th July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Neudorfer, Natascha S.; Theuerkauf, Ulrike G.; Wolff, Stefan
• Is Part Of: Territory, politics, governance. Volume 10:Issue 4(2022)
• Page Start: 504
• Page End: 526
• Publication Date: 2022-07-04
• Subjects: conflict -- territorial self-governance -- power sharing -- electoral system; Political science -- Periodicals; Jurisdiction, Territorial -- Periodicals; Territory, National -- Periodicals; Regionalism -- Political aspects -- Periodicals; Political geography -- Periodicals; Geopolitics -- Periodicals; Geopolitics; Political geography; Regionalism -- Political aspects; Territory, National; Periodicals; 327
• DOI: 10.1080/21622671.2020.1773920
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2162-2671

Abstract

ABSTRACT: After decades of scholarship, there is still little agreement about the usefulness of territorial self-governance in managing territory-centred conflicts. We argue that the effectiveness of territorial self-governance as a tool of territory-centred conflict management increases when combined with a proportional representation (PR) electoral system for the national legislature in basically open political regimes, but not when combined with a parliamentary form of government at the centre. We propose that the combination of territorial self-governance and PR in at least minimally democratic regimes has most conflict-reducing potential, as both institutions follow a logic of widening the input side of representative politics. We find empirical support for this proposition using binary time-series cross-section analysis. Our findings highlight the need to consider not just the number but, more importantly, the type of power-sharing institutions that are combined with each other when looking for ways to reduce the risk of territory-centred intrastate violence.