#  Arthur Spirling Examines the Development of Modern Democracies 

 





August 15, 2013

 

 

     ![screen_shot_2013-08-16_at_8.25.33_am.png](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/screen_shot_2013-08-16_at_8.25.33_am.png?itok=Nfstryxh) 

 



 

 Prof. Arthur Spirling's recent work on Westminster systems is garnering recognition and fostering collaboration among researchers on democratic governments.  
  
[Spirling](http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/iqss/people/arthur-spirling), John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences and IQSS faculty affiliate, is working with collaborator [Andrew Eggers](http://andy.egge.rs/), lecturer at the London School of Economics and former IQSS graduate affiliate, to examine the way in which Britain's political system evolved. Their research primarily focuses on the years 1832-1918, Spirling explains, "during which British politics went from a personalized, limited franchise, and corrupt state of affairs to a fairly 'clean,' competitive system," which then served as the model for other modern democracies in countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and India.  
  
Much of Spirling's research support from IQSS came through the Undergraduate Research Scholars ([URS](http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/undergradscholars)) program. Undergraduate research assistants have been instrumental in compiling election results, disambiguating speech records, and otherwise cleaning up data that Spirling and Eggers gathered over a two-year period. Their work has also fostered a community among scholars conducting similar research, including fellow IQSS affiliate [Daniel Ziblatt](/people/daniel-ziblatt).  
  
Spirling and Eggers' work earned the recognition from the European Political Science Association ([EPSA](http://www.epsanet.org/)), which in June awarded them with the Emerging Scholars award for their paper, "[Ministerial Responsiveness in Westminster Systems: Institutional Choices and House of Commons Debate, 1832-1915](http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~spirling/documents/DebatesPaper.pdf)." They are also working on a contributed paper to a planned special issue of *Legislative Studies Quarterly* on British political development.



 

 

 



 

 

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