Description: Big political changes in Malaysia since 2018 have raised high expectations for electoral reform but much remains to be achieved. This impressive study takes stock of the state of democracy in Malaysia by offering readers a deep but readily understandable analysis of an array of electoral reform issues. Here is a resource that will interest the politically engaged as well as scholars of political process, a study that is both wide-ranging and focused, and a primer on electoral politics that will be of wide interest far beyond Malaysia.
Brief description: Donald L. Horowitz is the James B. Duke Professor of Law and Political Science Emeritus at Duke University. A close student of Malaysia, he has written extensively on electoral systems, ethnic conflict and accommodation, and constitutional design. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he has served as President of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy, and lectured at universities around the world.
Review Quotes: "In a brilliant chapter entitled 'The politics of malapportionment and electoral reform in a dominant party regime', Kai Ostwald provides a detailed examination of the way delineation exercises have been carried out during the 6-decade rule of the BN government.... This book adds to the earlier analyses of the elections and the need for electoral reforms in Malaysia but goes further not only in covering issues not covered in previous studies but also in bringing the reader up to date with electoral reform developments. Written by both local and international scholars the book provides the reader with a better understanding of the issues and problems involved in conducting elections in a racially divided society like Malaysia."-- "Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS)"