Punters' Guide to Democracy

This book discusses multiple ways of voting in a democratic system and explains the basis of more consensual politics. Without delving into too much technical argument or too many mathematical examples, it aims to show that binary decision-making is blunt, primitive, divisive, and sometimes inaccurate; prove that other methodologies are more accurate and, therefore, more democratic; highlight more inclusive and effective voting procedures; discuss electoral reforms for national parliaments and international forums like the UN Security Council and COP26/27.The book is written not just for academia, or for the politicians and journalists, or for other specialists; it is for the general public: for students still at school, for voters in society at large, and for activists in umpteen NGOs."e;...the West's relentless pursuit of binary voting... has been a cause of countless tragedies. This book is brilliant: political controversies should rarely if ever be 'resolved' by majority vote."e;Arend Lijphart, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, San Diego"e;[for] those who do not believe in a black-or-white world... a very important and extremely timely contribution..."e;Vera Stojarova, Associate Professor of Political Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic"e;Peter's challenge to the binary "e;win-lose"e; approach is urgently necessary, as is his proposal for an eminently more reasonable, accountable, and participatory system."e;Dr. Valery Perry, Democratization Policy Council, Sarajevo"e;...the preferential points vote... would be the more accurate way to make decisions, and the consequences far more peaceful."e;Lord Boyce, House of Lords"e;He builds a case for a specific version of preferential procedure, not only for elections, but for decision making as well."e;Hannu Nurmi, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Turku, Finland"e;A particularly strong plea in favour of voting procedures... which go far beyond the usual 'yes or no' ballots. [He uses] an alert prose and a wealth of illuminating and easily graspable examples."e; Maurice Salles, Emeritus Professor, Universite de Caen Normandie