"Many countries have experimented with different electoral rules in order to increase involvement in the political system or to make it easier to form stable governments. Barry Ames explores this important topic in one of the world's most populous and important democracies, Brazil.

This book locates one of the sources of Brazil's "crisis of governance" in the nation's unique electoral system, a system that produces a multiplicity of weak parties and individualistic, pork-oriented politicians with little accountability to citizens. It explains the government's difficulties in adopting innovative policies by examining electoral rules, cabinet formation, executive-legislative conflict, party discipline, and legislative negotiation.".

"The Deadlock of Democracy in Brazil is for those seeking to understand the crisis of democratic politics in Brazil. It will be especially useful to scholars and students in the areas of comparative politics, Latin American politics, electoral analysis, and legislative studies."--BOOK JACKET.