Comparative Electoral Systems
Electoral systems in comparative perspective, with a focus on the D21 method: social choice, proportionality and representativeness, and electoral integrity.
Read more →Political scientist
Ivan Jarabinský
Voting rules, electoral integrity, and the quality of democracy.
- Head of Election Research, Institute H21, Prague
- Research Affiliate, Department of Political Science, Central European University, Vienna
About
I am a political scientist who studies elections. My work ranges from the technical design of voting rules to the larger questions of electoral integrity and democratic quality, and what connects it is an interest in how elections can contribute to a fairer and better-functioning democracy.
I currently serve as Head of Election Research at Institute H21, where I work on alternative voting methods and vote recount practices across Europe, while also contributing to research on the cognitive and epistemic challenges facing modern democracy. In autumn 2026 I am a Research Affiliate in the Department of Political Science at Central European University in Vienna.
I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science at Masaryk University, and my research perspective was further shaped by stays at Central European University in Budapest, the University of Twente in the Netherlands, and the University of Piemonte Orientale in Italy. I have also held research positions at the University of Hradec Králové and the Institute for Evaluations and Social Analyses (INESAN).
Alongside my research, I deliver occasional lectures on electoral topics and contribute to public conversation on elections and democracy through commentaries, blog posts, and podcast appearances.
Current research
The Meaning Crisis of Democracy
Hamlet’s problem of democracy: the tension between constant critical openness and the need for stable shared frames, now moving from theory to survey data.
Read more →Selected publications
Do people make their votes count? An experimental study on voter errors and electoral systems
Public Choice 208(1–2), pp. 357–377 · DOI
The Effects of Electoral Systems on Electoral Administration
Acta Politica 61(4), pp. 760–782 · DOI
Democracy Has Hamlet’s Problem: The Search for Relevance in a Complex World
Critical Review 37(2–3), pp. 167–199 · DOI
From Opposition to Implementation: Unraveling the Strategy of Technocratic Populist Government’s Appropriation of Opposition Policy Proposals
East European Politics and Societies 39(3), pp. 651–679 · DOI