Nigel S Roberts
Biographic Data
| ID | 1534514 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nigel S Roberts |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nigel S |
| FAMILY NAME | Roberts |
| SIGNATURE | ROBERTS N S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Victoria University of Wellington |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 78 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1973 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Special voting in New Zealand
There has been a dramatic change in the effect that special votes have on the results of general elections in New Zealand. Under the former first-past-the-post system for electing Members of Parliament, special votes favoured the National Party. For example, during the 12 successive elections from 1960 through to and including 1993, Labour Party candidates received an average share of the special votes cast that was 1.58 percent less than their s…
Legislative organization in MMP: The case of New Zealand
How do electoral systems affect legislative organization? The change in electoral systems from Single Member District plurality (SMD) to Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) in New Zealand can illuminate how electoral incentives affect the distribution of cabinet positions. Because in SMD the outcome of individual local districts determines the number of seats a party wins collectively, New Zealand parties deploy cabinet posts in order to shore up the…
Grand Designs: Parliamentary Architecture, Art, and Accessibility
The phrase ‘grand designs’ is used in political science and international relations, as well as in architecture. The buildings that house parliaments and legislatures are often appropriately grand, for they represent the highest aspirations of their states. While many legislatures use updated versions of ancient Greek and Roman architectural styles, there are instances of striking new parliamentary buildings, such as Oscar Niemeyer’s Congress bui…
Continuity and Change in Political Science
(2009). Continuity and Change in Political Science. Political Science: Vol. 61, No. 1, pp. 3-6
In the Limelight? The 60th Anniversary of New Zealand’s Independence and of Political Science
The constitutional structures and electoral systems of Pacific Island States
This article complements the country-specific studies by providing an analytical survey of the constitutional and electoral system arrangements of 22 polities across the Pacific. As elsewhere, the design of national institutions in the Pacific has provoked debate and controversy, with constitutional arrangements reflecting both colonial experiences and indigenous cultures. This article covers choices of presidential or parliamentary models, unita…
From Lobby Fodder to Leadership: New Zealand Parliamentarians and Select Committees
New Zealand’s Members of Parliament have seldom been credited with significant opportunities to display leadership in an environment dominated by a strong executive and highly disciplined political parties. The select committee system has been identified as one setting in which Parliament might be able to gain greater autonomy vis-à-vis the executive, giving MPs opportunities to make a distinctive contribution to the law-making process. This arti…
An Initial Assessment of the Consequences of MMP in New Zealand
The purpose is to provide an initial assessment of the impact of the introduction of the mixed‐member proportional (MMP) electoral system on the New Zealand political system, especially with regard to the normative criteria established by the New Zealand Royal Commission on the Electoral System. However, since the normative nature of these criteria may limit the breadth of any analysis (they are not necessarily comprehensive and unambiguous, nor …
Plus ça change … ? Anti-Party Sentiment and Electoral System Change: A New Zealand Case Study
Anti-party sentiment tends to be seen as a relatively recent problem for the world's democracies. Evidence from our case study, however, suggests that all its familiar symptoms were present years ago, and that they tend to fluctuate with time and chance. Therefore, while institutional reform may help to alleviate what is essentially a chronic problem punctuated by acute episodes, it is unlikely to offer a cure. Both the proponents and opponents o…
Politics
New Zealand politics during the 1990s was dominated by debate over a new electoral system, MMP (mixed member proportional), recommended in 1986 and endorsed by voters in 1992 and 1993. The four elections held during the 1990s were influenced, and at times overshadowed, by moves to adopt a new voting system based on proportional representation principles. The loss of confidence in New Zealand's two major parties, National and Labour, was accompani…
The New Zealand Political Change Project
The Impact of Electoral Reform on the Public Service: The New Zealand Case
October 1996 marked the beginning of a new era in New Zealand politics, with the advent of a system of proportional representation based on the German model. This article explores the impact of electoral reform on the public service. First, it summarises the extensive public sector reforms during the mid‐to‐late 1980s and considers the preparations undertaken by the public service for proportional representation. Second, it outlines the concerns …
An Inventory of New Zealand Voting Surveys, 1991-98
(1998). An Inventory of New Zealand Voting Surveys, 1991-98. Political Science: Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 111-118
Enthusiasm and entropy: New Zealand's experience with proportional representation
Assessment of New Zealand's new Additional Member/Mixed Member voting system one year after the first MMP election suggests that while parliament is more diverse politically and socially, parliamentary politics remains highly adversarial
Experimenting with coalition government: Preparing to manage under proportional representation in New Zealand
Why did New Zealand adopt German‐style proportional representation
Public cynicism with politics and politicians led ultimately to New Zealand's referendums on electoral systems
A category of its own? Four PR two‐tier compensatory member electoral systems in 1994
At first sight, the electoral systems in Denmark, Germany, South Africa and Sweden may seem different and an attempt to categorize them together odd. All four, however, belong to the same category, which Arend Lijphart calls ‘proportional representation two‐tier districting systems’, and the effects of these systems on the proportionality of the representation of political parties are, indeed, comparable. The four electoral systems were the basis…
The New Zealand General Election and Electoral Referendum of 1993
The New Zealand electoral referendum and general election of 1993
Agenda Gap: Political Perspectives and Gender Differences in New Zealand
The New Zealand electoral referendum of 1992
Elections and expectations: Evidence from electoral surveys in New Zealand
The New Zealand General Election of 1990
(1991). The New Zealand General Election of 1990. Political Science: Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 1-19
An Inventory of New Zealand Voting Surveys, 1987-90
Success, swing and gender: The performance off women candidates for parliament in New Zealand, 1946–87
New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote, and it has a higher proportion of women as Members of Parliament than any of the other Anglo‐American first‐past‐the‐post democracies. An examination of the vote‐pulling powers of women candidates for Parliament in all the general elections in New Zealand since the end of the Second World War finds that female candidates for the Labour Party have done statistically significant…
A category of its own? Four PR two‐tier compensatory member electoral systems in 1994
At first sight, the electoral systems in Denmark, Germany, South Africa and Sweden may seem different and an attempt to categorize them together odd. All four, however, belong to the same category, which Arend Lijphart calls ‘proportional representation two‐tier districting systems’, and the effects of these systems on the proportionality of the representation of political parties are, indeed, comparable. The four electoral systems were the basis…
Why did New Zealand adopt German‐style proportional representation
Public cynicism with politics and politicians led ultimately to New Zealand's referendums on electoral systems
The New Zealand electoral referendum and general election of 1993
The New Zealand electoral referendum of 1992
The constitutional structures and electoral systems of Pacific Island States
This article complements the country-specific studies by providing an analytical survey of the constitutional and electoral system arrangements of 22 polities across the Pacific. As elsewhere, the design of national institutions in the Pacific has provoked debate and controversy, with constitutional arrangements reflecting both colonial experiences and indigenous cultures. This article covers choices of presidential or parliamentary models, unita…
Political Intolerance and the Structure of Mass Attitudes: A Study of the United States, Israel, and New Zealand
This article examines the patterns of tolerance and intolerance characterizing the publics of three countries: Israel, New Zealand, and the United States. Beyond the level of tolerance, we study the extent to which the tolerant and intolerant segments of each nation's population are intense in their attitudes, and their degree of agreement about the targets of their intolerance. We find the United States to be characterized by a pattern of “plura…
Experimenting with coalition government: Preparing to manage under proportional representation in New Zealand
Elections and expectations: Evidence from electoral surveys in New Zealand
Parties, Policies, and Personalities: A Study of Two Electorates in the 1984 New Zealand General Election
Legislative organization in MMP: The case of New Zealand
How do electoral systems affect legislative organization? The change in electoral systems from Single Member District plurality (SMD) to Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) in New Zealand can illuminate how electoral incentives affect the distribution of cabinet positions. Because in SMD the outcome of individual local districts determines the number of seats a party wins collectively, New Zealand parties deploy cabinet posts in order to shore up the…
Politics
New Zealand politics during the 1990s was dominated by debate over a new electoral system, MMP (mixed member proportional), recommended in 1986 and endorsed by voters in 1992 and 1993. The four elections held during the 1990s were influenced, and at times overshadowed, by moves to adopt a new voting system based on proportional representation principles. The loss of confidence in New Zealand's two major parties, National and Labour, was accompani…
Enthusiasm and entropy: New Zealand's experience with proportional representation
Assessment of New Zealand's new Additional Member/Mixed Member voting system one year after the first MMP election suggests that while parliament is more diverse politically and socially, parliamentary politics remains highly adversarial
The New Zealand General Election of 1990
(1991). The New Zealand General Election of 1990. Political Science: Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 1-19
Success, swing and gender: The performance off women candidates for parliament in New Zealand, 1946–87
New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote, and it has a higher proportion of women as Members of Parliament than any of the other Anglo‐American first‐past‐the‐post democracies. An examination of the vote‐pulling powers of women candidates for Parliament in all the general elections in New Zealand since the end of the Second World War finds that female candidates for the Labour Party have done statistically significant…
Grand Designs: Parliamentary Architecture, Art, and Accessibility
The phrase ‘grand designs’ is used in political science and international relations, as well as in architecture. The buildings that house parliaments and legislatures are often appropriately grand, for they represent the highest aspirations of their states. While many legislatures use updated versions of ancient Greek and Roman architectural styles, there are instances of striking new parliamentary buildings, such as Oscar Niemeyer’s Congress bui…
From Lobby Fodder to Leadership: New Zealand Parliamentarians and Select Committees
New Zealand’s Members of Parliament have seldom been credited with significant opportunities to display leadership in an environment dominated by a strong executive and highly disciplined political parties. The select committee system has been identified as one setting in which Parliament might be able to gain greater autonomy vis-à-vis the executive, giving MPs opportunities to make a distinctive contribution to the law-making process. This arti…
The Impact of Electoral Reform on the Public Service: The New Zealand Case
October 1996 marked the beginning of a new era in New Zealand politics, with the advent of a system of proportional representation based on the German model. This article explores the impact of electoral reform on the public service. First, it summarises the extensive public sector reforms during the mid‐to‐late 1980s and considers the preparations undertaken by the public service for proportional representation. Second, it outlines the concerns …
The New Zealand General Election and Electoral Referendum of 1993
An Inventory of New Zealand Voting Surveys, 1987-90
Trans‐Tasman twins: The 1972 general elections in Australia and New Zealand
(1973). Trans‐Tasman twins: The 1972 general elections in Australia and New Zealand. Politics: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 144-151
New Zealand Psephology: The Study of Electoral Darkness, Murk and Gloom
The Roundabout Swings of Australian Psephology
The female kiwi as a political animal
Political Intolerance and the Structure of Mass Attitudes: A Study of the United States, Israel, and New Zealand
This article examines the patterns of tolerance and intolerance characterizing the publics of three countries: Israel, New Zealand, and the United States. Beyond the level of tolerance, we study the extent to which the tolerant and intolerant segments of each nation's population are intense in their attitudes, and their degree of agreement about the targets of their intolerance. We find the United States to be characterized by a pattern of “plura…
Parties, Policies, and Personalities: A Study of Two Electorates in the 1984 New Zealand General Election
Success, swing and gender: The performance off women candidates for parliament in New Zealand, 1946–87
New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote, and it has a higher proportion of women as Members of Parliament than any of the other Anglo‐American first‐past‐the‐post democracies. An examination of the vote‐pulling powers of women candidates for Parliament in all the general elections in New Zealand since the end of the Second World War finds that female candidates for the Labour Party have done statistically significant…
Elections and expectations: Evidence from electoral surveys in New Zealand
The New Zealand General Election of 1990
(1991). The New Zealand General Election of 1990. Political Science: Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 1-19
An Inventory of New Zealand Voting Surveys, 1987-90
Agenda Gap: Political Perspectives and Gender Differences in New Zealand
The New Zealand electoral referendum of 1992
The New Zealand General Election and Electoral Referendum of 1993
The New Zealand electoral referendum and general election of 1993
Why did New Zealand adopt German‐style proportional representation
Public cynicism with politics and politicians led ultimately to New Zealand's referendums on electoral systems
A category of its own? Four PR two‐tier compensatory member electoral systems in 1994
At first sight, the electoral systems in Denmark, Germany, South Africa and Sweden may seem different and an attempt to categorize them together odd. All four, however, belong to the same category, which Arend Lijphart calls ‘proportional representation two‐tier districting systems’, and the effects of these systems on the proportionality of the representation of political parties are, indeed, comparable. The four electoral systems were the basis…
Experimenting with coalition government: Preparing to manage under proportional representation in New Zealand
The Impact of Electoral Reform on the Public Service: The New Zealand Case
October 1996 marked the beginning of a new era in New Zealand politics, with the advent of a system of proportional representation based on the German model. This article explores the impact of electoral reform on the public service. First, it summarises the extensive public sector reforms during the mid‐to‐late 1980s and considers the preparations undertaken by the public service for proportional representation. Second, it outlines the concerns …
An Inventory of New Zealand Voting Surveys, 1991-98
(1998). An Inventory of New Zealand Voting Surveys, 1991-98. Political Science: Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 111-118
Enthusiasm and entropy: New Zealand's experience with proportional representation
Assessment of New Zealand's new Additional Member/Mixed Member voting system one year after the first MMP election suggests that while parliament is more diverse politically and socially, parliamentary politics remains highly adversarial
The New Zealand Political Change Project
Politics
New Zealand politics during the 1990s was dominated by debate over a new electoral system, MMP (mixed member proportional), recommended in 1986 and endorsed by voters in 1992 and 1993. The four elections held during the 1990s were influenced, and at times overshadowed, by moves to adopt a new voting system based on proportional representation principles. The loss of confidence in New Zealand's two major parties, National and Labour, was accompani…
Plus ça change … ? Anti-Party Sentiment and Electoral System Change: A New Zealand Case Study
Anti-party sentiment tends to be seen as a relatively recent problem for the world's democracies. Evidence from our case study, however, suggests that all its familiar symptoms were present years ago, and that they tend to fluctuate with time and chance. Therefore, while institutional reform may help to alleviate what is essentially a chronic problem punctuated by acute episodes, it is unlikely to offer a cure. Both the proponents and opponents o…
An Initial Assessment of the Consequences of MMP in New Zealand
The purpose is to provide an initial assessment of the impact of the introduction of the mixed‐member proportional (MMP) electoral system on the New Zealand political system, especially with regard to the normative criteria established by the New Zealand Royal Commission on the Electoral System. However, since the normative nature of these criteria may limit the breadth of any analysis (they are not necessarily comprehensive and unambiguous, nor …
From Lobby Fodder to Leadership: New Zealand Parliamentarians and Select Committees
New Zealand’s Members of Parliament have seldom been credited with significant opportunities to display leadership in an environment dominated by a strong executive and highly disciplined political parties. The select committee system has been identified as one setting in which Parliament might be able to gain greater autonomy vis-à-vis the executive, giving MPs opportunities to make a distinctive contribution to the law-making process. This arti…
Political science (30 works) · Law (27 works) · Politics (27 works) · Law (26 works) · Political economy (15 works) · Public Administration (15 works) · Public Administration (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (11 works) · Democracy (10 works)