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Annexations and alliances: When are blocs advantageous a priori?

Author

Listed:
  • Moshé Machover

    (Department of Philosophy, King's College, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK)

  • Dan S. Felsenthal

    (University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel)

Abstract

For any simple voting game (SVG), we consider the question posed in the title from two different points of view as to what voting power means. We also distinguish between blocs imposed by annexation and those formed voluntarily, and present some general theoretical results concerning these notions. We illustrate our theoretical findings with examples using both toy SVGs and the Qualified Majority Voting rule of the Council of Ministers of the European Community (CMEC). We show that when voting power is understood as influence (I-power), forming a voluntary bloc may be advantageous even if its voting power is smaller than the sum of the original powers of its members; and it may be disadvantageous even if its voting power is greater than that sum.

Suggested Citation

  • Moshé Machover & Dan S. Felsenthal, 2002. "Annexations and alliances: When are blocs advantageous a priori?," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 19(2), pages 295-312.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sochwe:v:19:y:2002:i:2:p:295-312
    Note: Received: 9 February 2000/Accepted: 19 October 2000
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dan S. Felsenthal & Moshé Machover, 2015. "The measurement of a priori voting power," Chapters, in: Jac C. Heckelman & Nicholas R. Miller (ed.), Handbook of Social Choice and Voting, chapter 8, pages 117-139, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Eguia, Jon X., 2011. "Voting blocs, party discipline and party formation," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 111-135, September.
    3. Michel Grabisch & Agnieszka Rusinowska, 2010. "A model of influence in a social network," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 69-96, July.
    4. Silvia Fedeli & Francesco Forte, 2001. "Voting Powers and the Efficiency of the Decision-Making Process in the European Council of Ministers," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 5-38, July.
    5. Claus Beisbart, 2010. "Groups can make a difference: voting power measures extended," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 69(3), pages 469-488, September.
    6. Mostapha Diss & Frank Steffen, 2017. "The Distribution of Power in the Lebanese Parliament Revisited," Post-Print halshs-01660826, HAL.
    7. Olga Ruff & Friedrich Pukelsheim, 2010. "A probabilistic synopsis of binary decision rules," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 35(3), pages 501-516, September.
    8. Alexander Mayer, 2018. "Luxembourg in the Early Days of the EEC: Null Player or Not?," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-12, May.
    9. Marc Feix & Dominique Lepelley & Vincent Merlin & Jean-Louis Rouet, 2007. "On the voting power of an alliance and the subsequent power of its members," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 28(2), pages 181-207, February.

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