POLn6000 Electoral Studies

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 7 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Roman Chytilek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Jakub Šedo, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Roman Chytilek, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Supplier department: Division of Politology – Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 U41
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! POL485 Electoral Studies && !NOW( POL485 Electoral Studies )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is oriented on the analysis of the topics connected with the electoral studies including electoral behavior, manipulation and outcomes of elections under different rules.
Learning outcomes
Students are able, at the end of the course, to know and apply different theoretical approaches in the electoral systems research for the analysis of the elections, electoral and party systems. They are able to understand and analyse changes of electoral behaviour, to identify the signs of the electoral malpractice and to prepare electoral reforms.
Syllabus
  • 1. Classification of the electoral systems and the terminology 2. Research of the electoral systems 3. Elections and electoral law as social and political institutions 4. Majoritarian electoral systems 5. Electoral systems which combine nominal and list tier 6. List proportional electoral systems 7. Not often used electoral systems 8. Electoral systems, accountability and representativness 9. Manipulation of elections 10. Electoral systems, elections anfd electoral behaviour 11. Elections and the cycle of elections 12. Political parties and elections 13. Electoral engineering and electoral reforms Class resources are available to students through Masaryk University’s online Information System (IS). Under the course title "POLn6000: Volební systémy a volby" an extended syllabus which contains important general information about the course and the weekly schedule.
Literature
  • Chytilek, R. 2016. Can (Inter-Party) Politics Disappear?, Sociální studia 13,1, 23-44
  • López-Pintor, R. - Gratschew, M. (2002) Voter Turnout Since 1945: A Global Report.
  • Elgie, R., Fauvelle-Aymar, C. (2012) Turnout Under Semipresidentialism: First- and Second-Order Elections to National-Level Institutions. Comparative Political Studies 45 (12), 1599-1618.
  • Harvey, C. (2016) Changes in the menu of manipulation: Electoral fraud, ballot stuffing and voters pressure in the 2011 Russian election. Electoral Studies, 41, 105-117.
  • Taagepera, R. (1998) Nationwide inclusion and exclusion thresholds of representation. Electoral Studies, 17 (4), 405-417.
  • Reif, K. (1997) European elections as member state second-order elections revisited. European Journal of Political Research 21 (1), 115 – 124.
  • Petrocik, J. R. (1996) 'Issue Ownership in Presidential Elections, with a 1980 Case Study', American Journal of Political Science, 40 (3), 825-850.
  • ,Colomer, J. M. (2005) : It's Parties that Choose Electoral Systems (or Duverger's Law Upside Down) Political Studies 51:1,
  • Dočekalová, P. (2012) Definice a konceptualizace volebního podvodou, Evropská volební studia, 7 (1), 17-29.
  • Grofman, B. (2016): Perspectives on the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. Annual Review of Political Science
  • Uckelman S.-Uckelman, J. (2013): Strategy and Manipulation in Medieval Elections,
  • HAVLÍK, Vlastimil, Otto EIBL, Miloš GREGOR, Kamil GREGOR, Lenka HRBKOVÁ, Roman CHYTILEK, Eva KNEBLOVÁ, Tomáš MACEČEK, Alena MACKOVÁ, Michal NOVÝ, Michal PINK, Peter SPÁČ, Jakub ŠEDO and Petr VODA. Volby do Poslanecké sněmovny 2013 (The 2013 Election to the Chamber of Deputies). Brno: Munipress, 2014, 348 pp. Monografie č. 57. ISBN 978-80-210-7147-6. info
  • JARABINSKÝ, Ivan. Diskuse nad povahou volebního podvodu a pokus o redefinici (Discussion about the character of electoral fraud and the attempt to redefinition). European Electoral Studies. Brno: ISPO, 2013, Volume 8, Issue 1, p. 37-45. ISSN 1801-6545. URL info
  • REYNOLDS, Andrew. Designing democracy in a dangerous world. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, x, 198. ISBN 9780199594498. info
  • FARRELL, David M. Electoral systems : a comparative introduction. 2nd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, xiii, 279. ISBN 9780230546783. info
  • RENWICK, Alan. The politics of electoral reform : changing the rules of democracy. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2010, xiv, 312. ISBN 9780521765305. URL info
  • BALDINI, Gianfranco and Adriano PAPPALARDO. Elections, electoral systems and volatile voters. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, xiii, 229. ISBN 9780230574489. info
  • STRMISKA, Maxmilián, Roman CHYTILEK, Jakub ŠEDO and Otto EIBL. Volební komplexy zemí V4. Studie k pojetí víceúrovňového volebního prostoru (Electoral Complexes of the V4 Countries. A Study on the Conceptualization of Multi-Level Electoral Space). 1st ed. Brno: Centrum pro strudium demokracie a kultury, 2009, 222 pp. Srovnávací politologie. ISBN 978-80-7325-201-4. info
  • CHYTILEK, Roman, Jakub ŠEDO, Tomáš LEBEDA and Dalibor ČALOUD. Volební systémy (Electoral Systems). 2. rozšířené. Praha: Portál, 2009, 376 pp. Politologie. ISBN 978-80-7367-548-6. info
  • Electoral systems and democracy. Edited by Larry Jay Diamond - Marc F. Plattner. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006, xxvi, 245. ISBN 0801884756. URL info
  • The politics of electoral systems. Edited by Michael Gallagher - Paul Mitchell. First published. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, xxxii, 662. ISBN 9780199238675. info
  • EVANS, Jocelyn. Voters & voting : an introduction. London: Sage Publications, 2004, xiii, 219. ISBN 9780761949107. info
  • BIRCH, Sarah. Electoral systems and political transformation in post-communist Europe. 1st pub. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2003, xii, 212 s. ISBN 0-333-98765-9. info
  • Mixed-member electoral systems : the best of both worlds? Edited by Matthew Soberg Shugart - Martin P. Wattenberg. 1st pub. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, xxiv, 656. ISBN 019925768X. info
  • Political institutions : democracy and social choice. Edited by Josep M. Colomer. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, 256 p. ISBN 0199241848. info
  • SARTORI, Giovanni. Srovnávací ústavní inženýrství : zkoumání struktur, podnětů a výsledků. Translated by Jana Ogrocká. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství, 2001, 238 s. ISBN 808585094X. info
  • Elections in Australia, Ireland, and Malta under the single transferable votereflections on an embedded institution. Edited by Shaun Bowler - Bernard Grofman. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000, vi, 293 p. ISBN 9780472026814. info
Teaching methods
The course is mostly conducted through lectures, reading of the important theoretical papers and applications of the theory of the electoral systems and writing of the seminar paper and the monitoring of the elections.
Assessment methods
In is necessary to get at least 24 points of maximum 40 points. Seminar paper - maximum 20 points, final oral exam - maximum 20 points. Grading: A: 40 – 37 points; B: 36 – 34 points; C: 33 – 30 points; D: 29 – 27 points; E: 26 – 24 points; F: 23 points and less
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2020, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2020/POLn6000