Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - Region: Other States, , language: English, abstract: The United States and Australia share a multitude of characteristics as modern advanced democracies. However, there also exists a number of notable differences between the states that serve to illustrate the importance of electoral systems in shaping political norms. In this paper, I will argue, that the type of electoral system, used within a democracy, determines the scope of general participation, public political attitudes and the rate of political change. Furthermore, I will look specifically at the case of Australia, to argue, that its constitution helped shape an electoral system that is of higher quality with regards to representation and governance than that of other democracies.