Political Science - Comparative Political Behavior

Catalog description

The course introduces students to the vast literature on comparative elections and comparative political parties. It pursues a twofold goal. First, the course surveys the large comparative electoral behavior literature. The themes covered in the first half include a discussion of why voters participate in elections, how voters form preferences, how psychological processes affect mass views, and how these, in turn, influence party preferences. Second, the course introduces students to the supply-side of politics and the role of political parties. This second part of the course, therefore, examines why parties form in the first place, what motives they have, what choices they offer in short, how and why parties compete. Together, the way voters form preferences and the logic of party formation illuminate a central element of the democratic process.