Merits and Limits of the Micro-system Analysis. The Case of Canada

The present article aims to demonstrate the merits and limits of the micro-system analysis (MSA) of the party competition. MSA has been used for several past decades rather intuitively and still lacks any adequate definition (or even unified theory) and therefore it is conceptually very underdeveloped. This text offers very inclusive working definition of the MSA and argues that distinguishing between qualitative/quantitative approach to MSA and/or bringing various catalogues and typologies of it is an ineffective try. The MSA is characterized by many research subtechniques and can be used in various contexts. Attached case study uses MSA as a tool for a single-member constituency analysis of the federal elections in Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba. The results certainly wouldn't be any pleasant surprise for those political scientists too mesmerized by various so called “Jaws” concerning the relationship between electoral- and party systems.