ASGV00875 Electoral Behavior (in Czech)

Syllabus

The name of the course: ASGV00875 Electoral Behavior

Teacher: doc. PhDr. Lukáš Linek, PhD.

E-mail: lukas.linek@soc.cas.cz

Form of the course: lecture/seminar

Rozsah studijního předmětu: 1/1

Time and location: Tuesday 10,00–11,35, Celetná 13, room 19

Consultations: Tuesday 11,40–12,30, Celetná 20, room 114.

Course abstract:

The course focuses on issues of elections and electoral behavior. After a brief introduction of basic research questions, the research design and types of data used, basic theories of voter turnout and party choice will be presented. The course will focus on explanations that use the individual characteristics of voters, as well as on contextual explanations and the interaction of both levels. The course will also systematically focus on the research design and why how the theoretical claims are justified The course will be taught in the form of lectures and seminars and requires active involvement of students.

Aim of the course:

The aim of the course is to present basic explanations of voter turnout and party choice.

Evaluation: 3 ETCS

To pass the course, the student has to (1) actively participate during the seminars; (2) submit 6 written position papers discussing the compulsory literature; (3) present the compulsory reading paper at the seminar.

Deadlines:

Written position papers must be submitted to Moodle the day before the first lecture of each block by 12 noon.

Communication:

In the case of communication by e-mail, write to the subject "Electoral behaviour course".

All necessary materials will be uploaded in Moodle.

Prerequisite:

Ability to read scientific text in English. Basic knowledge of methods of social science research and sociological theory is welcomed.

Course requirements:

Active participation during seminars. For successful completion of the course, the activity during the seminars is required, esp. discussion of the compulsory literature and topics of each lecture.
Written preparation. Students are required to submit 6 written position papers that will discuss the compulsory readings for a given block of lectures, submitted the day before the first lecture of the given block. The minimum length is about 2000 words. The position paper should include a summary of the main argument of the compulsory reading and at the same time, it should discuss the selected problem / criticize the argument / apply the knowledge from the article to other cases / put it in the context of other literature etc. The students have to submit their position papers no later than one day prior to the lecture (by uploading it in the Moodle system by Monday 12:00).

Presentation. Students are required to present the text from the compulsory reading list. The presenter should first briefly introduce the text, the main objective, the theory, eventually the methodology and research. It should then focus on:

• critical discussion of the content of the text;

• re-thinking of some aspects of the text in terms of sociological theory or theory of democracy;
• encourage others by provocative considerations to discuss some aspects of the text.

The aim of the presentation is, besides a brief discussion of the text, also to ask a set of questions that should serve as a basis for the subsequent critical debate. The presenter will be a co-moderator of the discussion. The presenter can find additional literature on the text and build up her presentation with it. The presenter will be moderator of the discussion together with the teacher.

Course schedule

Block 1

1. Electoral behavior as a form of political participation (25. 2. 2020)

Electoral behavior as a form of political participation, political participation research and its normative starting points (link to theories of democracy), definition and typology of political participation, changes in the repertoire of political participation after the Second World War.

2. Basic research questions. Types of data. Basic methods of electoral behavior analysis. Historical survey of electoral behavior research (3. 3. 2020)

Basic research questions (interpretation of elections and electoral behavior, mandate theory). Interaction of micro and macro factors. Assumptions of electoral behavior models (nationalization of party systems and homogeneity of voters). Aggregated and individual-level data. Experimental and observational design. Breakthrough monographs and studies. Interaction of theory, technology, data and statistical models.

Required (block 1):

Teorell, Jan. 2006. „Political Participation and Three Theories of Democracy: A Research Inventory and Agenda.” European Journal of Political Research 45(5): 787–810.

van der Eijk, Cees, Mark Franklin. 2009. Elections and Voters. Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave, Macmillan (chapter 1).

Recommended (block 1):

Dalton, Russell, Hans-Dieter Klingemann. 2007. „Citizens and Political Behavior.“ In Russell Dalton, Hans-Dieter Klingemann (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press, str. 3–26.

Vráblíková, Kateřina. 2008. „Politická participace - teorie a koncepty.“ Politologický časopis 15(4): 366–388.

Kouba, Karel. 2007. „Prostorová analýza českého stranického systému: Institutionalizace a prostorové režimy.“ Sociologický časopis/Czech Sociological Review 43(5): 1017–1037.

Block 2

3. Voter turnout I. – aggregate-level models (10. 3. 2020)

Turnout trends. Macro-level explanations of turnout. Effect of institutions.

4. Electoral participation II. – individual-level models (17. 3. 2020)

Individual-level explanations of electoral participation.

Required (block 2):

Blais, André. 2006. „What Affects Voter Turnout?” Annual Review of Political Science 9: 111–125.

Kasara, Kimuli, Pavithra Suryanarayan. 2015. “When Do the Rich Vote Less Than the Poor and Why? Explaining Turnout Inequality across the World.” American Journal of Political Science 59(3): 613–627.

Recommended (block 2):

Blais, André, Agniezka Dobrzynska. 1998. „Turnout in Electoral Democracies.“ European Journal of Political Research. 33(2): 239–261.

Geys, Benny. 2006. „Explaining Voter Turnout: A Review of Aggregate-level Research.“ Electoral Studies 25(4): 637–663.

Linek, Lukáš. 2013. Kam se ztratili voliči? Vysvětlení vývoje volební účasti v České republice v letech 1990–2010. Brno: CDK. (kapitola 2: Teorie volební účasti).

Block 3

5. Electoral participation III. – individual-level models (24. 3. 2020)

Individual-level explanations of electoral participation.

6. Turnout decline and its consequences (31. 3. 2020)

Turnout decline and its explanations. Consequences of turnout decline for political representation and election results. Low turnout problem.

Required (block 3):

Blais, André. 2000. To Vote or Note To Vote? The Merits and Limits of Rational Choice Theory. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press (kapitola 4: What is the Cost of Voting? a kapitola 5: Is it a Duty to Vote?)

Blais, André, Daniel Rubenson. 2013. „The Source of Turnout Decline: New Values or New Contexts?“ Comparative Political Studies 46(1): 95–117.</