This book is an examination of minority government performance in conjunction with the territorial distribution of state power and the territorial interests of political parties. It examines political institutions, and the reconcilability of party goals and the contingent bargaining circumstances, in multilevel and territorial perspectives.

Approximately one-third of parliamentary democracies are or are typically ruled by a minority government - a situation where the party or parties represented at cabinet do not between them hold a majority of seats in the national legislature. Minority governments are particularly interesting in parliamentary systems, where the government is politically responsible to parliament, can be removed by it, and needs (majority) support in the parliament to legislate. The chapters in this volume explore and analyse the formation, functioning, and performance of minority governments, what we term the why, how, and how well. The volume begins with overviews of the concept of and puzzles surrounding minority governments in parliamentary systems, and establishes the current terms of the debate. In the thirteen chapters that follow, leading country experts present in-depth case studies that provide rich, contextualized analyses of minority governments in different settings. The final chapter draws broader, comparative-based conclusions from the country studies that push the literature forward and outline directions for future research on minority governments. Comparative Politics is a series for researchers, teachers, and students of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterized by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu . The series is edited by Nicole Bolleyer, Chair of Comparative Political Science, Geschwister Scholl Institut, LMU Munich and Jonathan Slapin, Professor of Political Institutions and European Politics, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich.

"Two Cheers for Minority Government presents a concise, accessible analysis of the prevalence of minority governments in Canada. Using the Canadian case to reflect on the processes and procedures of the parliamentary system, Peter H. Russell explores the tendency for people in parliamentary government to prefer elections which result in one party getting a margin of seats. Russell aims to explain why a minority government is not only a likely outcome of parliamentary elections in Canada but is also, for most, the best possible outcome. He argues that the best result of parliamentary actions is for no party to end up with a majority of seats in the lower house. So called "hung" parliaments result in much more decision of policy in the elected chambers of parliament. This makes for government that is more accountable to the people. The new edition reveals how the increasing frequency of parliamentary elections resulting in no party winning majority seats is resulting in parliamentary government, world wide, evolving in a positive, democratic direction. Ultimately, Two Cheers for Minority Government aims to help both citizens and politicians to make the most of minority government, give it more stability, and make it work as well as it can for Canada."--

Conservative plans for a coalition government, a snap General Election, prime ministers considering whether to resign after an electoral or referendum defeat, and the prospect of Labour and Conservative deals with the Liberals, SNP and Northern Ireland Unionist parties, have become dominant features of British politics since 2010, and the hung parliament in June 2017. However, 1970s British political leaders created secret plans for all these scenarios. Using declassified files, this book provides new perspectives of the strategic response to minority government in the 1970s, reveals a previously unrecognized distinct British tradition of minority government that goes beyond established international practice, and shows how these antecedents might apply to minority government at Westminster in 2017. This study will be invaluable to all interested in minority government and British political history, from policymakers, students, and journalists to the general public.