Word.ws English Dictionary

Duverger's law

Duverger's law proper noun: the principle that plurality-rule elections (such as first past the post) structured within single-member districts tend to favour a two-party system, and that the double-ballot majority system and proportional representation tend to favor multipartyism.

Proper noun

Duverger's law

  1. The principle that plurality-rule elections (such as first past the post) structured within single-member districts tend to favour a two-party system, and that the double-ballot majority system and proportional representation tend to favor multipartyism.
    • Out of that work emerged Duverger’s Law, which holds that single-member districts tend to produce two-party systems. […] And in the long run, the inexorable machinery of Duverger’s Law will ensure that the Patriot Party is folded back into the Republican Party.2021 January 28, Michael Tomasky, “Why a Trump Third Party Would Be a Boon for Democrats”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Origin of Duverger's law

Attributed to Maurice Duverger, French sociologist who published on the subject in the 1950s and 1960s.

Questions about Duverger's law

What does Duverger's law mean?
Duverger's law means the principle that plurality-rule elections (such as first past the post) structured within single-member districts tend to favour a two-party system, and that the double-ballot majority system and proportional representation tend to favor multipartyism.
What part of speech is Duverger's law?
Duverger's law is a proper noun.

Words near Duverger's law in the dictionary

  1. Duvas
  2. Duvauchelle
  3. Duved
  4. Duvel
  5. duvelisib
  6. Duverger's law
  7. Duvernay
  8. Duvernays
  9. Duverney
  10. duvet
  11. duvet day

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Duverger's law (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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