Patterns of democracy : government forms and performance in thirty-six countries / Arend Lijphart.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- The Westminster model of democracy -- The consensus model of democracy -- Thirty-six democracies -- Party systems : two-party and multiparty patterns -- Cabinets : concentration versus sharing of executive power -- Executive-legislative relations : patterns of dominance and balance of power -- Electoral systems : majority and plurality methods versus proportional representation -- Interest groups : pluralism versus corporatism -- Division of power : the federal-unitary and centralized-decentralized contrasts -- Parliaments and congresses : concentration versus division of legislative power -- Constitutions : amendment procedures and judicial review -- Central banks : independence versus dependence -- The two-dimensional conceptual map of democracy -- Effective government and policy-making : does concensus democracy make a difference? -- The quality of democracy and a "kinder, gentler" democracy : consensus democracy makes a difference -- Conclusions and recommendations.