For comparative research on democracies worldwide, scholars use international datasets such as Democratic Electoral Systems (DES) database. This widely used database contains data on legislative and presidential elections in democracies since 1945. Nils-Christian Bormann (Universität Witten/Herdecke) and Leo Kaftan (Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne) have now expanded the data collection to include elections held between 1919 and 1945 in 34 countries, including Belgium.
These data provide insights into the effects of different electoral systems on party fragmentation and the stability of democracies. The historical data are also useful for understanding relevant issues in contemporary democracies, such as the impact of institutional choices and the evolution of electoral rules. They can be linked to other scientific sources and offer a valuable basis for comparative analyses.
During the processing of the Belgian data, Bormann and Kaftan relied on LOKSTAT to map election results. The DES database is accessible, among other platforms, via the Dataverse of Harvard University.
Article:
Nils-Christian Bormann, Lea Kaftan. “Introducing the Democratic Electoral Systems data, 1919-1945”, in: Open Research Europe, 4(2024), 1-18.
DETAILS
Database used: LOKSTAT
Date: February 2025
Category: Scientific publication