Party Competition in Western Europe (Summer term 25)
Content
This seminar zeros in on the role of political parties for democracies in Western Europe. After a brief recap on their origins and functions in the democratic system, we will proceed in three blocks. In a first block, we will focus on the demand side, discussing existing approaches explaining voting behaviour. Do voters try to maximize their own utility when voting for a party or do they rather follow their peers or more emotional motives? We will then proceed by analysing political parties as strategic actors. How do parties find their niche in existing party systems, under which conditions do they decide to change their position on a political issue? Finally, in a third block, we will discuss the impact of political institutions, such as the electoral system, on party competition. When do electoral systems increase party system fragmentation, which systems lead to a personalization of political parties?
You can download the most recent version of the syllabus here.The seminar takes place weekly, on Wednesday (10:15-11:45) in seminar room SCH 100.107.
Material
Week 1: Introduction
In this session, we will get to know each other and discuss some logistics about the seminar. Moreover, a brief introduction into the topic is given.Slides
Week 2: Concepts
In this session, we will discuss the method of comparison in political science and introduce some key concepts in the study of party competition.Slides
Mindmap on good research
Week 3: Political Cleavages
Have the conflict lines in Western societies changed over times? We will discuss the idea of political cleavages and their recent transformations.Slides