Strategies Under the Surface: the determinants of redistricting in Belgium

Most of the time, electoral reforms are seen as decisions taken by political players aiming at increasing their seat share.1 According to Benoit’s model, parties rank reform plans according to whether they maximize their share of seats (Benoit,2004). In that respect, the decision of the Belgian government to change district boundaries for the 2003 federal elections is rather strange, as the reform adopted has no mechanical impact on the allocation of seats among parties. This does not, however, mean that this redistricting is one of the few reforms not driven by strategic considerations. Belgi... Mehr ...