96338 - POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND INSTITUTIONS

Learning outcomes

The course introduces students to the key concepts and themes of political science. In order to do so, the course will focus on what constitutes the political domain, the empirical study of politics, the development and functioning of modern political institutions, the comparative analysis of political regimes with a focus on democracies and the forms of political participation. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze the key features of different political institutions

Course contents

This course will introduce students to some of the foundational understandings of political behavior and the role of institutions in shaping these behaviors.

We examine political attitudes, public opinion, political participation including voting and how different institutional configurations impact the ability to impact the political process. The goal is to understand how citizens can impact the political process and how this is guided by institutional design. We will familiarize ourselves with the main theoretical and empirical issues involved in the behavioral approaches to the study of politics. Each week, we will evaluate the main theories and models used to account for citizens’ attitudes and behaviors. We will as well draw on empirical evidence in the literature to explore the validity of these theories.

Further, we identify and explain how such attitudes and behavior affect the quality of democracy. The aim of this course it to be able to apply the theoretical and conceptual knowledge to understanding and resolving some key contemporary issues in the behavior of citizens in advanced democracies.

Readings/Bibliography

The full list and electronic copies of the readings are posted on the class website on “Virtuale” at https://virtuale.unibo.it/ .

Students who do not regularly attend classes should make themselves (very) familiar with…

Dalton, Russell. 2019. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. CQ Press, 7th ed.

Converse, Philip. 1964 “The Nature of Mass Belief Systems in Mass Publics” in David E. Apter (ed.) Ideology and Discontent. London: Free Press. pp. 206-61.

Boix, Carles. 1999. "Setting the Rules of the Game: The Choice of Electoral Systems in Advanced Democracies." American Political Science Review 93(3): 609-624

Lijphart, Arend. 1994. Electoral Systems and Party Systems. Oxford University Press.

March, James and Johan Olsen. 1989. Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics. Free Pres. Chaps. 1 and 9

Ostrom. Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press.

Teaching methods

The teaching follows the University educational innovation project and will be taught as ‘Y’. Formal lectures by the instructor will be followed by guided discussions and exercises to provide student opportunities to assess the topics and themes introduced in the readings and lectures.

Assessment methods

There are 2 different formats for the final mark: one for students that regularly attend and participate to classes and seminars, and one for students that do not regularly attend classes and seminars. A ‘regularly attending student’ is a student who misses no more than 5 classes and attends all seminars. Participation will be checked regularly.

Final Mark for regularly attending students

The final mark has 2 parts.

• The first part consists of responses to weekly discussions. Three (3) of these will be graded pass/fail. All passing marks will add 1 point to the final grade.
• The second part consists of a written exam with 3 open-ended questions in which students will assess core concepts from the course as well as apply topics covered in the course to current challenges. This is 100% of the final grade (plus passing marks from the weekly responses above).

NB: Students will have to take the exam by the final exam session. To take the exam, students will need to sign up on Almaesami. If regularly attending students do not take the exam by the abovementioned deadline, they will have to take the exam as non-attending students.

Final Mark for non-attending students

The final mark has 1 part.

• Written exam with 5 open-ended questions (100%).

  NB: To take the exam, students have to sign up on Almaesami.

  For all students

  The only valid mark is the one achieved in the most recent attempt to pass the exam.

• Students who pass the exam can refuse the final mark (thus requesting to re-take the exam) only once - in accordance with the university’s teaching regulations.
• If the student rejects a passing mark, any subsequent passing mark will be recorded as final in the candidate’s transcripts.
• Each student is personally responsible for his/her registration to the exam session on AlmaEsami. Registration closes 5 days before the exam. Therefore, it is not possible to sign up for the exam in the 5 days before the exam date.
• Students who change their minds must withdraw their registration no later than 5 days before the exam. Withdrawal from the exam allows students to sign up for the following exam session and avoid a penalization of 3 points applied to the final grade obtained in the exam.
• Withdrawal during the last 5 days before the exam is possible only in case of unexpected events (i.e. sickness, bereavement). Students must send from their official account @studio.unibo.it an e-mail to paulmatthew.loveless@unibo.it providing justification. If this procedure is not followed, a penalization of 3 points will be applied to the final grade obtained in the exam.

Teaching tools

The slides of the lectures will be provided.

Office hours

See the website of Paul Matthew Loveless