POLb1108 Electoral Myth and Facts

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Peter Spáč, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Ing. Mgr. Daniel Kerekeš, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Peter Spáč, 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
Mon 16:00–17:40 P22
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! POL352 Electoral Myth and Facts && !NOW( POL352 Electoral Myth and Facts )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 34 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/34, only registered: 0/34
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to focus on elections with stress on their sensitive and more or less problematic aspects. The discussed topics include universal suffrage, personalisation of elections or electoral paradoxes.
Learning outcomes
After finishing the course student will be able to:
- describe specific aspects of elections;
- discuss about problematic issues of elections;
- compare and evaluate proposed solutions in field of elections.
Syllabus
  • 1. Electoral paradoxes 2. Judicial decisions about Czech elections 3. Seminar - Part 1 4. Electoral turnout and its determinants 5. Personalisation of electoral systems 6. Seminar - Part 2 7. Borders of electoral constituencies 8. Suffrage 9. Alphabet and elections 10. Seminar - Part 3
Literature
    required literature
  • BERNSTEIN, Mark F. 2013. Racial Gerrymandering. Public Interest No. 122, pp. 59 – 69.
  • GUTH, Werner – WECK-HANNEMANN, Hannelore. 1997. Do people care about democracy? An experiment exploring the value of voting rights. Public Choice, April, Vol. 91 Issue 1, pp. 27 – 47.
  • McALLISTER, Ian. 2012. The Politics of Lowering the Voting Age in Australia: Evaluating the Evidence. Paper prepared for the AEC Electoral Research Forum (http://www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/research/caber/3b.htm).
  • MATTILA, Mikko (2003): Why Bother? Determinants of Turnout in the European Elections. Electoral Studies 22(3): 449-468.
  • MILLER, Joannie - KROSNICK, Jon. 1998. The Impact of Candidate Name Order on Election Outcomes. Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 62, pp. 291–297.
  • STEIN, James D. How math explains the world. HarperCollins: Smithsonian Books, 2008.
  • BALINSKI, Michel L.; YOUNG, H. Peyton. Fair representation: meeting the ideal of one man, one vote. Brookings Institution Press, 2010.
  • DANČIŠIN, Vladimir. Metódy prerozdeľovania mandátov v pomernom volebnom systéme. Prešov, Filozofická fakulta PU v Prešove, 2013.
  • BLAMAS, Meital et al. 2012. „Two routes to personalized politics: Centralized and decentralized personalization.“ Party Politics, February 27, 2012.
  • VOŽENÍLKOVÁ, Marcela and Jakub ŠEDO. Personalizace volebního systému v návrzích volebních reforem v České republice (Personalisation of Electoral System in Electoral Reform Proposals in the Czech Republic). Evropská volební studia. 2015, vol. 10, No 1, p. 33-50. ISSN 1801-6545. URL info
  • KARVONEN, Lauri. The personalisation of politics : a study of parliamentary democracies. Colchester: ECPR Press, 2010, 124 p. ISBN 9781907301032. info
  • KARVONEN, Lauri. The personalisation of politics : a study of parliamentary democracies. Colchester: ECPR Press, 2010, 124 p. ISBN 9781907301032. info
  • ŘÍCHOVÁ, Blanka. Úvod do současné politologie : [srovnávací analýza demokratických politických systémů]. Vyd. 2. Praha: Portál, 2007, 207 s. ISBN 9788073673482. info
Teaching methods
The course includes both lectures and seminar.
Assessment methods
During the course students prepare at least two (out of three) position papers. Each position paper is awarded up to 10 points.. In case students write all three position papers they are given points from their two best results (maximum of 20 points). In the end of the course students write a final examination (maximum of 30 points). To pass the course students need to acquire at least 30 points.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2019, recent)
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