POL290 Political Participation and Voting Behaviour

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Kateřina Vráblíková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Ing. Ondřej Císař, Ph.D.
Division of Politology – Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Timetable
Mon 10:00–11:40 U41
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 an introduction to the study of political behavior that explores the relationship between citizens and politics. Students will get acquainted with the concepts and types of political behavior and theories explaining political participation and voting behavior. Simultaneously they will get basic knowledge of research methods and findings of empirical studies. The course alumni will be able to answer, for example, these questions: Is there a decline of political participation or are citizens more active in politics than they used to be? Why do some people take part in demonstration, sign a petition or vote and others do no? How can be voter decisions explained?
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. What is political participation?
  • 3. How to study political participation?
  • 4. Types of political activities and modes of political participation
  • WHY DO CITIZENS PARTICIPATE IN POLITICS?
  • 5. Theories of political participation
  • 6. Micro-level explanation: social economic status and political values and attitudes
  • 7. Meso-level explanation: social networks, social capital; macro-level explanation: modernizational theory, institutions, political elites
  • 8. Reading week
  • WHY DO CITIZENS VOTE FOR A SPECIFIC POLITICAL PARTY?
  • 9. Voting behavior I. – sociological explanation
  • 10. Voting behavior II. – socio-psychological model; voting behavior III. – issues, leaders, campaigns
  • 11. Qualitative research of political participation
  • 12. Political participation and voting behavior in the Czech Republic
  • 13. Course wrap-up
Literature
  • Citizenship and involvement in European democracies : a comparative analysis. Edited by Jan van Deth - José Ramón Montero Gibert - Anders Westholm. New York: Routledge, 2007, xxiv, 476. ISBN 9780415412315. info
  • LEBEDA, Tomáš. Voliči a volby 2006. Praha: Sociologický ústav AV ČR, 2007, viii, 234. ISBN 9788073301262. info
  • EVANS, Jocelyn. Voters & voting : an introduction. London: Sage Publications, 2004, xiii, 219. ISBN 9780761949107. info
  • ROSENSTONE, Steven J. and John Mark HANSEN. Mobilization, participation, and democracy in America. Edited by Keith Reeves. New York: Longman, 2003, xxxi, 333. ISBN 0321121864. info
  • NORRIS, Pippa. Democratic phoenix : reinventing political activism. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2002, xiv, 290. ISBN 0521010535. URL info
  • VERBA, Sidney, Kay Lehman SCHLOZMAN and Henry E. BRADY. Voice and equality : civic voluntarism in american politics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995, xix, 640. ISBN 0674942930. info
Assessment methods
To pass the course students are expected to submit at least three short position papers and pass the final in-class written exam. Students can collect 20 points at maximum.
Short position papers: Students are expected to write three short position papers (about 500 words each, single-spaced), that will discuss the required reading(s) for a given lecture. The submission of at least three position papers is a condition for taking the final exam. No points can be collected from the position papers.
Final in-class written exam: The exam will consist of four open questions (max. five points for each question) based on the discussed topics.
Evaluation:
20-19 points: A
18-17 points: B
16-15 points C
14-13 points D
12 points E
11 points and less F
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2010.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2009, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2009/POL290