Technology
How Electoral Systems Shape Party System Fragmentation
Quick fact
Under first-past-the-post voting in single-member districts, the effective number of parties tends toward two, a tendency known as Duverger's law, while countries with proportional representation typically host far more parties.
Why this is interesting
Why do some countries seem to have only two major political parties, while others have many? The answer lies in the simple rules that turn your vote into a seat in parliament.