Cover -- Half-title -- Series-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Tables and Figures -- Tables -- Figures -- Preface -- Introduction -- Central Questions -- Presidentialism, Collective Dilemmas, and Institutional Reform -- Theories, Approaches, and Hypotheses -- Electoral Fraud: Patterns and Issues -- Existing Research -- Sources and Methods -- Definitions and Scales -- Explaining Electoral Fraud -- The Magnitude of Electoral Fraud -- Theoretical Guideposts -- Methodological Reflections -- An Overview of the Book -- 1 Electoral Fraud during Indirect and Public Elections, 1901-12 -- Introduction -- The Political Economy of Presidentialism -- Public Finances and Electoral Competition -- Presidentialism and the Classical Theory of Electoral Governance -- The Political Landscape of the Early Twentieth Century -- The Size and Nature of the Electorate -- Electors and Second-Stage Elections -- Fraud during Indirect Elections -- The Nature and Spatial Basis of Electoral Fraud -- The Intensity and Magnitude of Electoral Fraud -- Congress, Reform, and Dispute Resolution -- Institutional Controls -- Political Conflict and Electoral Reform -- Politicizing the Judiciary -- Parties and Electors: Principal-Agent Problems -- Conclusions -- 2 Institutional Change, Electoral Cycles, and Partisanship, 1910-4 -- Introduction -- Watershed Elections and Political Mandates -- The Struggle to Reform the Constitution -- Factionalism and the Reforms -- Committee Reports -- Midterm Elections, Legislative Alignments, and Reform Possibilities -- Partisanship, Roll-Call Votes, and the Constitutional Amendments -- The Struggle to Enact a New Electoral Law -- The Proposed Electoral Law -- Electoral Incentives, Committee Power, and the Reforms -- Conclusions -- 3 Electoral Fraud during the Public Ballot, 1913-23 -- Introduction.

Electoral Campaigns under Direct Voting -- Political Instability -- Parties and Their Voters -- Parties and Voter Turnout Rates -- Electoral Fraud in the Aftermath of Reform -- The Nature and Spatial Basis of Electoral Fraud -- The Intensity and Magnitude of Fraud -- Institutional Failure and Political Crisis -- Institutional Controls and the Separation of Powers -- A Crisis of Political Succession -- The President's Dilemma -- Congress, Partisanship, and the Classical Theory of Electoral Governance -- Conclusion -- 4 Institutional Change, Electoral Cycles, and Partisanship, 1924-8 -- Introduction -- The Struggle to Reform Institutions -- Legislative Alignments and Reform -- Institutional Configurations and Reform Possibilities -- The President's Response -- Political Threats and Committee Reports -- The Dilemmas Posed by Female Suffrage Rights -- Institutional Design and Strategic Interplay: Electoral Tribunals -- Parties and Voters: Maintaining the Links That Bind? -- Final Debates -- Veto Games and Political Coalitions -- Constitutional Reform and Double-Ballot Elections -- The Reform of Electoral Laws (II) -- The President's Bill -- Partisan Alignments and Election Year Politics -- Committee Responses -- Delay, Opposition, and Public Opinion -- Conclusions -- 5 Electoral Fraud during the Secret Ballot, 1925-48 -- Introduction -- Political Competition under the Secret Franchise -- Parties Lose Control -- Parties and Voter Turnout Rates -- Electoral Fraud, 1925-38 -- The Nature and Spatial Basis of Fraud -- The Intensity and Magnitude of Fraud -- Institutional Controls -- An Imperial Presidency, Polarization, and Electoral Fraud -- The Ruling Bloc Splits -- Social Reform and Coalitional Politics -- The Nature and Spatial Basis of Electoral Fraud -- Electoral Fraud and Institutional Controls -- Conclusion.

6 Political Polarization, Electoral Reform, and Civil War, 1946-9 -- Introduction -- Regime Survival and Electoral Reform -- The Production and Scope of the Reform Bill -- Legislative Alignments and Strategic Possibilities -- Killer Amendments and Their Outcomes: The Pressure Mounts -- Debate, Delay, and Compromise -- The Political Center Stabilizes -- Electoral Competition, Polarization, and Civil War -- Rival Strategic Calculations: The Opposition Splits -- The Collapse of the Centrist Compromise -- Political Polarization and Electoral Reform -- Election Results and the Charges of Fraud -- Negotiation, Civil War, and a New Constitution -- Conclusion -- Conclusion: Ballot-Rigging and Electoral Reform in Comparative Perspective -- Introduction -- Electoral Fraud: Principal Findings -- Social Structural and Institutional Accounts: A Balance Sheet -- The Magnitude of Electoral Fraud -- Assessing the Classical Theory of Electoral Governance -- Electoral Reform: Theories and Evidence -- Office-Seeking Theories -- Sociological Approaches -- Institutionalist Approaches -- Implications and Comparative Perspectives -- Rethinking Costa Rican Democratization -- Promoting the Study of Electoral Fraud: Beyond Costa Rica -- Reformulating Existing Accounts of Institutional Reform -- Index.