José María Maravall is the Director of the Center for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Juan March Institute (Madrid). He is also a Professor of Sociology at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid), an Honorary Fellow of St. Antony's College (Oxford University), and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. He holds doctorates from the universities of Madrid and Oxford. He was a socialist member of Parliament and Minister of Education and Science from 1982 to 1988. His previous publications include Economic Reforms in New Democracies (1993); Regimes, Politics, and Markets (1997); and (with A. Przeworski) Democracy and the Rule of Law (2003). Ignacio Sanchez-Cuenca is Professor of Political Science at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Juan March Institute (Madrid). He is also Associate Professor of Sociology at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid). He has been the Rice Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, Visiting Scholar at New York University, and has held positions at Universidad Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) and University of Salamanca. He has published three books in Spanish; articles in journals such as Government and Opposition; Party Politics; European Union Politics; and the European Journal of Sociology; as well as several Spanish journals. He also has chapters in several edited volumes, including Democracy and the Rule of Law (2003), edited by J. M. Maravall and A. Przeworski.

'The chapters in Controlling Governments are coherent and well argued, and the arguments are well defended. In fact, it reads like a special issue of a journal …' Political Studies Review

• Introduction; 1. Explaining the electoral performance of incumbents in democracies Belén Barreiro; 2. How can governments be accountable if voters vote ideologically? Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca; 3. Enduring ethnicity: the political survival of incumbent ethnic parties in western democracies Sonia Alonso; 4. Performance or representation? The determinants of voting in complex political contexts Paloma Aguilar and Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca; 5. Political knowledge and the logic of voting: a comparative study Marta Fraile; 6. The political consequences of internal party democracy José María Maravall; 7. Choosing rules for government: the institutional preferences of early Socialist parties Alberto Penadés; 8. Constitutions and democratic breakdowns Alicia Adserá and Carles Boix.

José María Maravall is the Director of the Center for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Juan March Institute (Madrid). He is also a Professor of Sociology at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid), an Honorary Fellow of St. Antony's College (Oxford University), and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. He holds doctorates from the universities of Madrid and Oxford. He was a socialist member of Parliament and Minister of Education and Science from 1982 to 1988. His previous publications include Economic Reforms in New Democracies (1993); Regimes, Politics, and Markets (1997); and (with A. Przeworski) Democracy and the Rule of Law (2003). Ignacio Sanchez-Cuenca is Professor of Political Science at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Juan March Institute (Madrid). He is also Associate Professor of Sociology at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid). He has been the Rice Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, Visiting Scholar at New York University, and has held positions at Universidad Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) and University of Salamanca. He has published three books in Spanish; articles in journals such as Government and Opposition; Party Politics; European Union Politics; and the European Journal of Sociology; as well as several Spanish journals. He also has chapters in several edited volumes, including Democracy and the Rule of Law (2003), edited by J. M. Maravall and A. Przeworski.

'The chapters in Controlling Governments are coherent and well argued, and the arguments are well defended. In fact, it reads like a special issue of a journal …' Political Studies Review

• Introduction; 1. Explaining the electoral performance of incumbents in democracies Belén Barreiro; 2. How can governments be accountable if voters vote ideologically? Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca; 3. Enduring ethnicity: the political survival of incumbent ethnic parties in western democracies Sonia Alonso; 4. Performance or representation? The determinants of voting in complex political contexts Paloma Aguilar and Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca; 5. Political knowledge and the logic of voting: a comparative study Marta Fraile; 6. The political consequences of internal party democracy José María Maravall; 7. Choosing rules for government: the institutional preferences of early Socialist parties Alberto Penadés; 8. Constitutions and democratic breakdowns Alicia Adserá and Carles Boix.