Conclusions: The New Research Agenda on Electoral Governance

This concluding article begins by considering the reasons behind the growing demand for policy-relevant comparative research into the institutional structures and processes of electoral management. It then outlines the theoretical framework used in this special issue – distinguishing the structure, capacities, and ethos of electoral management – and summarizes the key insights arising from the evidence. Research on electoral management is expanding, nevertheless it suffers from several major challenges, including the difficulties of isolating aid effectiveness in this sector and of determining the impact of electoral management on broader indicators of democratic performance. This constitutes the future research agenda.