Universität Wien

210125 SE M7: State Activity, Policy and Governance Analyses (2017W)

Inter-Election Democracy

9.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work

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Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 10.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 17.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 24.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 31.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 07.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 14.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 21.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 28.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 05.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 12.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 09.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 16.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 23.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock
  • Tuesday 30.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum 1 (S1), NIG 2. Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The seminar focuses on the democratic process between elections. However, this process is structured in many ways by the election just held and foreshadowed by the election to follow at the end of the legislative term. In the seminar we will study important episodes and aspects of the inter-election period and how they relate to the two elections. Relevant questions include:
* How is the election result interpreted by political actors and the public and what follows from there?
* How does the process of coalition formation relate to the parties’ substantive campaign stances and the way the parties conducted their campaigns?
* How do parties’ choices of coalition partners influence voters’ party perceptions?
* How do the parties’ electoral pledges influence government policy – to what extent do parties fulfil their electoral mandate? How do parties “invest” in public policy with a view on the next election?
* To what extent is conflict in the electoral arena from the campaign period reproduced in the legislative arena? And how do patterns of government–opposition relation inform the next campaign?
* How do changes in coalition behaviour – new partners, new coalitions – relate to patterns of parliamentary voting and the conduct of parliamentary processes?
* What influence do changes in party strength in public opinion polls have on intra-coalition politics? What is their influence on the relations between government and opposition parties? And how do they influence intra-party politics?
* How do parties communicate with the electorate in the “long campaign” – the period from after the election until the setting in of the “hot campaign” immediately before elections?
* How do voters balance retrospective evaluations of the parties’ records in relation to prospective evaluations of their promises and programs?

Assessment and permitted materials

Active participation, student presentations, term paper

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

(1) Regular and active participation (with a maximum of two missed classes agreed upon with seminar leader) (15 % of grade)
(2) Seminar presentations (20 %)
(3) Term paper (6000–7000 words without references) (65 %)

Examination topics

Reading list

Martin, Lanny W. & Georg Vanberg (2008). Coalition Government and Political Communication. Political Research Quarterly 61(3):502–16.
Martin, Lanny W. & Georg Vanberg (2011). Parliaments and Coalitions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Martin, Lanny W. & Georg Vanberg (2014). Parties and Policymaking in Multiparty Governments: The Legislative Median, Ministerial Autonomy, and the Coalition Compromise. American Journal of Political Science, 58(4): 979–996.
Müller, Wolfgang C. & Kaare Strøm (eds.) (1999). Policy, Office, or Votes? How Political Parties in Western Europe Make Hard Decisions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Müller, Wolfgang C. & Kaare Strøm (eds.) (2000). Coalition Governments in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Naurin, Elin (2011). Election Promises, Party Behaviour and Voter Perceptions. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Powell, G. Bingham (2000). Elections as Instruments of Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Rohrschneider, Robert & Stephen Whitefield (2012). The Strains of Representation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rooduijn, Matthijs & Tjitske Akkerman (2017). Flank Attacks: Populism and Left–Right Radicalism in Western Europe. Party Politics, 23(3): 193–204.
Rovny, Jan (2012). Who Emphasizes and Who Blurs? Party Strategies in Multidimensional Competition. European Union Politics, 13(2): 269–292.
Royed, Terry (1996). Testing the Mandate Model in Britain and the United States: Evidence from the Reagan and Thatcher Eras. British Journal of Political Science, 26(1): 45–80.
Schröder, Valentin & Christian Stecker (2017). The Temporal Dimension of Issue Competition. Party Politics, online first.
Somer-Topcu, Zeynep (forthcoming). Everything to Everyone: The Electoral Consequences of the Broad-Appeal Strategy in Europe. American Journal of Political Science.
Soroka, Stuart N. & Christopher Wlezien (2010) Degrees of Democracy: Politics, Public Opinion, and Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spoon, Jae-Jae & Heike Klüver (2015). ‘Voter Polarisation and Party Responsiveness: Why Parties Emphasis Divided Issues, But Remain Silent on Unified Issues.’ European Journal of Political Research, 54(2): 343–362.
Stevens, Daniel (2013). Issue Evolution in Britain: The Debate on European Union Integration, 1964–2010. European Journal of Political Research, 52(4): 536–557.
Stimson, James A. (1991) Public opinion in America: moods, cycles, and swings. Boulder: Westview.
Stimson, James A., Michael B. MacKuen & Robert S. Erikson (1995) “Dynamic representation.” American Political Science Review 89(3):543–65.
Strøm, Kaare, Wolfgang C. Müller & Torbjörn Bergman (eds.) (2008). Cabinets and Coalition Bargaining. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Strömbäck, Jesper (2008). Four Phases of Mediatization: An Analysis of the Mediatization of Politics. International Journal of Press/Politics 13(3): 228–46.
Stubager, Rune & Rune Slothuus (2013). What Are the Sources of Political Parties’ Issue Ownership? Testing Four Explanations at the Individual Level. Political Behavior, 35(3): 567–588.
Tavits, Margit (2006). Party system change – Testing a model of new party entry.” Party Politics 12(1):99–119.
Tavits, Margit (2008a). Party systems in the making: The emergence and success of new parties in new democracies. British Journal of Political Science 38(1):113–33.
Tavits, Margit (2008b). The Role of Parties’ Past Behavior in Coalition Formation. American Political Science Review 102(4):495–507.
Thesen, Gunnar, Christoffer Green-Pedersen, and Petzer B. Mortensen (2017). Priming, Issue Ownership, and Party Support: The Electoral Gains of an Issue-Friendly Media Agenda. Political Communication, 34(2): 282–301.
Thomson, Robert, et al. (2017). The Fulfillment of Parties’ Election Pledges: A Comparative Study on the Impact of Power Sharing. American Journal of Political Science, DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12313
Timmermans, Arco (2006). Standing Apart and Sitting Together: Enforcing Coalition Agreements

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:38