This project addresses such questions as how electoral laws translate election results into seats in national legislatures, how they influence strategic voting amongst the electorate, and how electoral laws and voting behavior affect the party system. It studies the relations between election results, government formation processes and policy outcomes, and examines how legislative organization and cabinet government affect institutions' powers. The project involves the organization of a year-long seminar series during the 2000-01 academic year and a one-day conference in June 2001.

This project discusses visions of democracy, and analyzes and determines criteria for the evaluation of the democratic character of political systems. It studies the EU's principal legislative procedures, and examines how they perform according to the selected criteria. For example, it studies to what extent EU policies can depart from the median voter's preferences. It analyzes the evolution of the democratic deficit over time, studies the impact of potential reforms and enlargement, and compares the EU institutions and procedures to the political system of the United States (US).