HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: political science

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Orit Kedar

Coordinator Email: orit.kedar@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Tuesday, 12-13 or by appointment

Teaching Staff:
Prof Orit Kedar

Course/Module description:
The course discusses classic issues and current topics in electoral politics. The focus is thematic, but the issues addressed will be discussed in the context of particular case studies. Some of the topics discussed are: party systems, political cleavages, representation, gender and vote choice, class and electoral politics, the extreme right, and electoral politics in multi-level governance systems.

Course/Module aims:
By the end of the course students will be familiar with main topics in electoral politics.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Ability to read and critically evaluate studies in electoral politics

Attendance requirements(%):
100%

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Lecture and class discussion

Course/Module Content:
2. October 31 Gender and voting

Why do women vote for the left more than men do today but they didn’t forty years ago?

Giger, Natalie. 2009. “Towards a Modern Gender Gap in Europe? A Comparative Analysis of Voting Behavior in 12 Countries.” The Social Science Journal, Vol. 46: 474-492.

Recommended

Inglehart, Ronald, and Pippa Norris. 2000. “The Developmental Theory of the Gender Gap: Women’s and Men’s Voting Behavior in Global Perspective.” International Political Science Review, Vol. 21(4): 441-463.

Norrander, Barbara. 1999. “The Evolution of the Gender Gap.” Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 63: 566-576.

3. November 7 Class and voting

Why do the poor vote for right-leaning parties, often against their class interests? Should they vote left instead?

De La O., Ana L., and Jonathan Rodden. 2008. "Does Religion Distract the Poor? Income and Issue Voting Around the World." Comparative Political Studies 41:437-476.

Recommended

Huber, John, and Piero Stanig. 2009. Individual Income and Voting for Redistribution across Democracies.

Elff, Martin. 2007. “Social Structure and Electoral Behavior in Comparative Perspective: The Decline of Social Cleavages in Western Europe Revisited.” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 5(2): 277-294.

Frank, Thomas. 2004. What's the Matter with Kansas? Owl Books.

Shayo, Moses. 2009. A Model of Social Identity with an Application to Political Economy: Nation, Class, and Redistribution, American Political Science Review 103(2): 147-174.

Bartels, Larry M. 2006. "What's the Matter with What's the Matter with Kansas?" Quarterly Journal of Political Science. Vol. 1: 201-226.

4. November 14 Race and the elections in the US

Did change in racial attitudes lead to Obama's election?

Hutchings, Vincent L. 2009. "Change Or More of the Same? Evaluating Racial Attitudes in the Obama Era." Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 73(5): 917-942.

Philpot, Tasha S., Daron R. Shaw, and Ernest B. GcGowen. 2009. "Winning the Race: Black Voter Turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election." Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 73(5): 995-1022.

5. November 21 Electoral systems

What are some of the key principles (and) values behind different electoral systems? What are the tradeoffs between them?

Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapter 8 (Pp. 142-170).

6. November 28 Votes, seats, and representation

How do votes translate into seats and, in turn, policy under different institutional regimes? Do some regimes represent voters’ preferences better than others?

Powell, G. Bingham Jr., and Georg S. Vanberg. 2000. “Election Laws, Disproportionality and Median Correspondence: Implications for Two Visions of Democracy.” British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 30: 383-411.

Recommended

Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic theory of Democracy. Harper Collins Publishers. Ch. 7, 8 (pp. 96-141).

Achen, Christopher H. 1978. “Measuring Representation.” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 22 (3): 475-510.

Samuels, David and Richard Snyder. 2001. “The Value of a Vote: Malapportionment in Comparative Perspective.” British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 31: 651-671.

7. December 5 Parties in contemporary democracies

What is the role of parties in contemporary democracies? Can we have a functioning democracy without them? Do parties help or hurt democratic processes?

Kirchheimer, Otto. “The Catch-All Party.” In The West European Party System. Peter Mair, Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 50-60.

Druckman, James N. 2001. “Using Credible Advice to Overcome Framing Effects.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organizations, Vol. 17(1): 62-82.*
*you may skip the second experiment described in the article.

Recommended

Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapter 5 (Pp. 62-89).

Niemi, Richard G., and M. Kent Jennings. 1991. “Issues and Inheritance in the Formation of Party Identification.” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 35 (4): 970-988.

8. December 12 Populism and anti-immigrant attitudes

TBS
9. December 19 Xenophobia and the extreme right

How is immigration in Europe leveraged into electoral support? Who supports extreme right parties? How do extreme right parties mobilize voters?

Schain, Martin S. 2000. “The National Front and the Legislative Elections of 1997.” In How France Votes, Michael S. Lewis-Beck, ed. Pp. 70-86. New York: Chatham House Publishers, Seven Bridges Press.

Recommended

Golder, Matt. 2003. “Explaining Variation in the Success of Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe.” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 36: 432-466.

Joel S. Fetzer. 2000. Public Attitudes toward Immigration in the United States, France, and Germany. Chapters 8-9, pp. 123-154. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

10. December 26 Who votes (and who cares)?

Why citizens participate in politics in general and in elections in particular? Who participates? Why do Americans participate in lower rates compared with citizens of other western democracies?

Blais, Andre, and R. K. Carty. 1990. “Does Proportional Representation Foster Voter Turnout?” European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 18(2): 167-181.

Recommended

Powell, Bingham, Jr. 1986. “American Voter Turnout in Comparative Perspective.” American Political Science Review Vol. 80 (1): 17-43.

Leighley, Jan E., and Jonathan Nagler. 2013. Who Votes Now? Demographics, Issues, Inequality, and Turnout in the United States. NJ: Princeton University Press.

Wolfinger, Raymond E. and Steven J. Rosenstone. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.

Colomer, Joseph M., 2001. Political Institutions. Oxford University Press. Chapter 2.


11. January 2 Strategic voting

Do voters take into consideration the potential impact of their vote on policy? Do they weigh the chances of their preferred party to get a seat or be in cabinet?

Abramson, Paul R. et al. 2010. “Comparing Strategic Voting under FPTP and PR.” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 43(1): 61-90.

Recommended

Cox, W. Gary. 1997. Making Votes Count. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ch. 4, Ch. 5: 99-108.

Blais et al. 2001. “Measuring Strategic Voting in Multiparty Plurality Elections.” Electoral Studies Vol. 20(3): 343-352.

Bargsted, Matias A., and Orit Kedar. 2009. “Coalition-Targeted Duvergerian Voting: How Expectations Affect Voter Choice under Proportional Representation.” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 53(2): 307-323.

Kedar, Orit. 2005. “When Moderate Voters Prefer Extreme Parties: Policy Balancing in Parliamentary Elections.” American Political Science Review Vol. 99(2): 185-199.


12. January 9 Midterm elections

What do voters think about when they vote “off season”? Are midterm elections like general elections? Does it matter that only some positions are up for election?

Fiorina, Morris. 1992. Divided Government. Allyn and Bacon. Chapter 5.

Recommended

Shugart, Matthew S. 1995. “The Electoral Cycle and Institutional Sources of Divided Presidential Government.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89(2): 327-343.


13. January 16 Electoral politics in ethnically divided societies

How can we design an electoral system that works well in an ethnically divided society? Should we try to cut across ethnic lines and thus blur divisions or channel them into politics?

Reilly, Benjamin. 2002. “Electoral Systems for Divided Societies.” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 13(2): 156-170.

Lijphart, Arend. 2004. “Constitutional Design for Divided Societies.” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 15(2): 96-109.

Recommended

Fraenkel, Jon, and Bernard Grofman. 2006. “Does The Alternative Vote Foster Moderation in Ethnically Divided Societies?” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39(5): 623-651.

Response:
Horowitz, Donald L. 2006. “Strategy Takes a Holiday.” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39(5): 652-662.

Rejoinder:
Fraenkel, Jon, and Bernard Grofman. 2006. “The Failure of The Alternative Vote As A Tool for Ethnic Moderation in Fiji” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39(5): 663-666.


14. January 23 Elections under authoritarian regimes (+review)

What is the role of elections under authoritarian regimes? How do elites manage them? How do voters think about them?

Lust-Okar, Ellen. 2006. “Elections under Authoritarianism: Preliminary Lessons from Jordan.” Democratization, Vol. 13(3): 456-471.

Recommended

Diamond, Larry. “Thinking about Hybrid Regimes.” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 13(2): 21-35.

Blaydes, Lisa. 2006. “Who Votes in Authoritarian Elections and Why? Determinants of Voter Turnout in Contemporary Egypt.”

Required Reading:
2. October 31 Gender and voting

Why do women vote for the left more than men do today but they didn’t forty years ago?

Giger, Natalie. 2009. “Towards a Modern Gender Gap in Europe? A Comparative Analysis of Voting Behavior in 12 Countries.” The Social Science Journal, Vol. 46: 474-492.

Recommended

Inglehart, Ronald, and Pippa Norris. 2000. “The Developmental Theory of the Gender Gap: Women’s and Men’s Voting Behavior in Global Perspective.” International Political Science Review, Vol. 21(4): 441-463.

Norrander, Barbara. 1999. “The Evolution of the Gender Gap.” Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 63: 566-576.

3. November 7 Class and voting

Why do the poor vote for right-leaning parties, often against their class interests? Should they vote left instead?

De La O., Ana L., and Jonathan Rodden. 2008. "Does Religion Distract the Poor? Income and Issue Voting Around the World." Comparative Political Studies 41:437-476.

Recommended

Huber, John, and Piero Stanig. 2009. Individual Income and Voting for Redistribution across Democracies.

Elff, Martin. 2007. “Social Structure and Electoral Behavior in Comparative Perspective: The Decline of Social Cleavages in Western Europe Revisited.” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 5(2): 277-294.

Frank, Thomas. 2004. What's the Matter with Kansas? Owl Books.

Shayo, Moses. 2009. A Model of Social Identity with an Application to Political Economy: Nation, Class, and Redistribution, American Political Science Review 103(2): 147-174.

Bartels, Larry M. 2006. "What's the Matter with What's the Matter with Kansas?" Quarterly Journal of Political Science. Vol. 1: 201-226.

4. November 14 Race and the elections in the US

Did change in racial attitudes lead to Obama's election?

Hutchings, Vincent L. 2009. "Change Or More of the Same? Evaluating Racial Attitudes in the Obama Era." Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 73(5): 917-942.

Philpot, Tasha S., Daron R. Shaw, and Ernest B. GcGowen. 2009. "Winning the Race: Black Voter Turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election." Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 73(5): 995-1022.

5. November 21 Electoral systems

What are some of the key principles (and) values behind different electoral systems? What are the tradeoffs between them?

Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapter 8 (Pp. 142-170).

6. November 28 Votes, seats, and representation

How do votes translate into seats and, in turn, policy under different institutional regimes? Do some regimes represent voters’ preferences better than others?

Powell, G. Bingham Jr., and Georg S. Vanberg. 2000. “Election Laws, Disproportionality and Median Correspondence: Implications for Two Visions of Democracy.” British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 30: 383-411.

Recommended

Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic theory of Democracy. Harper Collins Publishers. Ch. 7, 8 (pp. 96-141).

Achen, Christopher H. 1978. “Measuring Representation.” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 22 (3): 475-510.

Samuels, David and Richard Snyder. 2001. “The Value of a Vote: Malapportionment in Comparative Perspective.” British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 31: 651-671.

7. December 5 Parties in contemporary democracies

What is the role of parties in contemporary democracies? Can we have a functioning democracy without them? Do parties help or hurt democratic processes?

Kirchheimer, Otto. “The Catch-All Party.” In The West European Party System. Peter Mair, Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 50-60.

Druckman, James N. 2001. “Using Credible Advice to Overcome Framing Effects.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organizations, Vol. 17(1): 62-82.*
*you may skip the second experiment described in the article.

Recommended

Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapter 5 (Pp. 62-89).

Niemi, Richard G., and M. Kent Jennings. 1991. “Issues and Inheritance in the Formation of Party Identification.” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 35 (4): 970-988.

8. December 12 Populism and anti-immigrant attitudes

TBS
9. December 19 Xenophobia and the extreme right

How is immigration in Europe leveraged into electoral support? Who supports extreme right parties? How do extreme right parties mobilize voters?

Schain, Martin S. 2000. “The National Front and the Legislative Elections of 1997.” In How France Votes, Michael S. Lewis-Beck, ed. Pp. 70-86. New York: Chatham House Publishers, Seven Bridges Press.

Recommended

Golder, Matt. 2003. “Explaining Variation in the Success of Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe.” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 36: 432-466.

Joel S. Fetzer. 2000. Public Attitudes toward Immigration in the United States, France, and Germany. Chapters 8-9, pp. 123-154. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

10. December 26 Who votes (and who cares)?

Why citizens participate in politics in general and in elections in particular? Who participates? Why do Americans participate in lower rates compared with citizens of other western democracies?

Blais, Andre, and R. K. Carty. 1990. “Does Proportional Representation Foster Voter Turnout?” European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 18(2): 167-181.

Recommended

Powell, Bingham, Jr. 1986. “American Voter Turnout in Comparative Perspective.” American Political Science Review Vol. 80 (1): 17-43.

Leighley, Jan E., and Jonathan Nagler. 2013. Who Votes Now? Demographics, Issues, Inequality, and Turnout in the United States. NJ: Princeton University Press.

Wolfinger, Raymond E. and Steven J. Rosenstone. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.

Colomer, Joseph M., 2001. Political Institutions. Oxford University Press. Chapter 2.


11. January 2 Strategic voting

Do voters take into consideration the potential impact of their vote on policy? Do they weigh the chances of their preferred party to get a seat or be in cabinet?

Abramson, Paul R. et al. 2010. “Comparing Strategic Voting under FPTP and PR.” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 43(1): 61-90.

Recommended

Cox, W. Gary. 1997. Making Votes Count. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ch. 4, Ch. 5: 99-108.

Blais et al. 2001. “Measuring Strategic Voting in Multiparty Plurality Elections.” Electoral Studies Vol. 20(3): 343-352.

Bargsted, Matias A., and Orit Kedar. 2009. “Coalition-Targeted Duvergerian Voting: How Expectations Affect Voter Choice under Proportional Representation.” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 53(2): 307-323.

Kedar, Orit. 2005. “When Moderate Voters Prefer Extreme Parties: Policy Balancing in Parliamentary Elections.” American Political Science Review Vol. 99(2): 185-199.


12. January 9 Midterm elections

What do voters think about when they vote “off season”? Are midterm elections like general elections? Does it matter that only some positions are up for election?

Fiorina, Morris. 1992. Divided Government. Allyn and Bacon. Chapter 5.

Recommended

Shugart, Matthew S. 1995. “The Electoral Cycle and Institutional Sources of Divided Presidential Government.” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 89(2): 327-343.


13. January 16 Electoral politics in ethnically divided societies

How can we design an electoral system that works well in an ethnically divided society? Should we try to cut across ethnic lines and thus blur divisions or channel them into politics?

Reilly, Benjamin. 2002. “Electoral Systems for Divided Societies.” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 13(2): 156-170.

Lijphart, Arend. 2004. “Constitutional Design for Divided Societies.” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 15(2): 96-109.

Recommended

Fraenkel, Jon, and Bernard Grofman. 2006. “Does The Alternative Vote Foster Moderation in Ethnically Divided Societies?” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39(5): 623-651.

Response:
Horowitz, Donald L. 2006. “Strategy Takes a Holiday.” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39(5): 652-662.

Rejoinder:
Fraenkel, Jon, and Bernard Grofman. 2006. “The Failure of The Alternative Vote As A Tool for Ethnic Moderation in Fiji” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39(5): 663-666.


14. January 23 Elections under authoritarian regimes (+review)

What is the role of elections under authoritarian regimes? How do elites manage them? How do voters think about them?

Lust-Okar, Ellen. 2006. “Elections under Authoritarianism: Preliminary Lessons from Jordan.” Democratization, Vol. 13(3): 456-471.

Recommended

Diamond, Larry. “Thinking about Hybrid Regimes.” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 13(2): 21-35.

Blaydes, Lisa. 2006. “Who Votes in Authoritarian Elections and Why? Determinants of Voter Turnout in Contemporary Egypt.”

Additional Reading Material:
See course site (Moodle)

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 90 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 10 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
None.