Rules matter. Individual preferences, on their own, don't help us understand final outcomes because preferences have to be expressed, counted, and aggregated, whether preferences be held by legislators, interest group members, or the mass public.
Elections are a particularly good illustration of the importance of rules. There is no "right" way to aggregate votes into seats. Each country seems to have come up with a method all its own.
Your task in this essay is to evaluate the "rules of the game" for one democratic nation, as described in Lipjhart's Patterns of Democracy. Why do you think a particular set of electoral rules may have been adopted? What is "fair" and "unfair" about these rules (make sure you define the terms upon which you are evaluating the system)? Make sure, in addition to answering the main question, that you provide a basic description of the electoral rules and the country which you are examining.
You may also find that the class exercises and the readings in Shepsle and Bonchek reading will help you answer this question.
Your answer should be no longer than two typed pages in length. The paper is due in class on October 5th.