POLITICAL SCIENCE 325
FALL 2004 MWF 10:00-10:50 PUP 206 N. MILLER

http://research.umbc.edu/~nmiller/POLI325/POLI325.htm

POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS

Readings Available in the Book Center:

Alan Abramowitz, VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: ELECTIONS IN THE UNITES STATES (McGraw-Hill, 2004)

Robert L. Dudley and Alan R. Gitelson, AMERICAN ELECTIONS: THE RULES MATTER (Longman, 2002)

Lawrence LeDuc, Richard G. Niemi, and Pippa Norris, eds., COMPARING DEMOCRACIES 2: NEW CHALLENGES IN THE STUDY OF ELECTIONS AND VOTING (SAGE, 2002)

Steven E. Schier, YOU CALL THIS AN ELECTION? AMERICA’S PECULIAR DEMOCRACY (Georgetown University Press, 2003)

Note: These textbooks are not available in the UMBC Library. Some instructor-authored readings will be made available through the course website (above) and/or distribution in class. A few additional readings will be made available through E-reserves and/or JSTOR.

Course Objectives:

This is an upper-level elective course in political science, designed to familiarize students with the electoral process and party politics. While the course focuses primarily on the American political system, it also makes frequent and systematic comparisons with other electoral democracies. The course also introduces students to contemporary political science research at a moderately advanced level and to some theoretical and normative concerns of political science with respect to the electoral process and party systems. The course requirements and grading system have been designed to measure each student's accomplishment of these goals. Grades will reflect level of individual achievement; there are no grade quotas.

Place in Curriculum:

All students in this course are expected to have familiarity with the basic institutions and processes of American politics (such as is provided by a standard introductory course in American Government and Politics, e.g., POLI 100). POLI 325 in turn provides students with solid preparation for advanced courses in the electoral process, including POLI 423 (Presidential Elections), POLI 425 (Campaigns and Elections), and POLI 426 (Electoral Systems and Representation). Because of the regular availability of POLI 425, the topic of election campaigns is covered only minimally in POLI 325.

Course Requirements:

(1) Regular attendance and participation in class discussions.

(2) Occasional problem sets and/or homework assignments.

(3) A two-part midterm exam consisting of an in-class one-hour short-answer section plus a take-home essay question. This will take place about halfway through the semester and will cover lectures, readings, and class discussion from the first half of the course.

(3) A final two-hour comprehensive essay exam, combining short written answers covering the second half of the course and longer essays covering the entire course. This will take place in the final exam period on December 20.

Make-up exams will be given only if your present a reasonable and timely excuse for not taking the exam at the regular time. Ordinarily, a “timely” excuse is one that reaches me or the Political Science Department prior to the regular exam time, and the make-up exam must be arranged and completed prior to the next class meeting if possible.

Class Attendance:

Regular class attendance is expected and, I believe, will be necessary for satisfactory completion of the course. The plight of students who repeatedly miss class will not be viewed sympathetically by the instructor.

Course Grade:

Each exam will each receive a numerical GPA type of grade. The two parts of the mid-term (in-class and take-home) will be equally weighted and together count the same as the final. However, failure to complete either part of the mid-term exam or the final exam, or submission of a plagiarized take-home essay, will result in a grade of F for the course, regardless of other grades. Your overall grade will be determined as follows:

(a) class attendance, class participation, and problem sets 20%

(b) in-class portion or midterm 20%

(d) final exam 40%

Academic Integrity:

By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC’s scholarly community in which everyone’s academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct Policy, consult the UMBC Student Handbook, the UMBC Policies section of the UMBC Directory, or go to http://www.umbc.edu/integrity .

Office Hours and Messages:

My office is PUP 321. My official office hours for Fall 2004 will be MW 3:30-4:30, with other times available by arrangement. If it is important that you see me on a particular day (even during office hours), I recommend that you make a specific appointment. You can arrange this before or after class or you can contact me in any way shown below. (Communication by e-mail is encouraged for all purposes.)

E-mail: nmiller@umbc.edu

Office phone (with 24-hour voice mail) (410) 455-2187

Department office (to leave message) (410) 455-2568

Home (if need be, before 10:00 PM) (410) 381-3605

Course Website:

There is a course web page at http://research.umbc.edu/~nmiller/POLI325/POLI325.htm (or follow the links UMBC => Faculty => Poli. Sci. => N. Miller => POLI 300), which can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Backup copies of the syllabus, class handouts, and other course material will be posted here, as well as announcements and some required readings and supplementary documents In addition, this page will provide links to many political organizations, media outlets, data sources, documents, and other resources for political research. In recent semesters, students have asked questions by email, which I have tried to answer individually by email. I will continue to answer them individually but this year, when the question is of general interest, I will also post my response on a “bulletin board” section of the web page, so that other students can also have ready access to it. All students are urged to check the course web page periodically.

COURSE OUTLINE

This outline (including the midterm date) is tentative and subject to change. Readings should be completed prior to the class day under which they are assigned and should be reviewed thereafter. “CD2” refers to edited volume on Comparing Democracies 2.

I. OVERVIEW OF ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES

1. (September 1) Introduction and Overview

2. (September 3) NO CLASS (Instructor Attending American Political Science

Association Meeting)

3. (September 8) Current Issues in American Electoral Politics

Schier, Introduction

Abramowitz, Chapters 1 and 2

4. (September 10) Characteristics and Consequences of Free Elections

Schier, Chapter 1

Tables 1.2 - 1.4 in CD2, pp. 10-39, preview

Larry Diamond, “Consolidating Democracies” (CD2, Chapter 10)

5. (September 13) The Origins and Nature of Political Parties

Lawrence LeDuc, Richard Niemi, and Pippa Norris, “Introduction: Comparing Democratic Elections” (CD2, Chapter 1)

6. (September 15) Comparative Party Systems

Table 1.4, Comparing Democracies, pp. 16-39

Peter Mair, “Comparing Party Systems” (CD2, Chapter 4)

7. (September 17) Comparative Party Systems (cont.)

Russell Dalton, “Political Cleavages, Issues, and Electoral Change” (CD2, Chapter 9)

II. ELECTORAL LAWS AND PARTY SYSTEMS

8. (September 20) Overview of Electoral Systems

Abramowitz, pp. 41-44 (review)

Schier, Chapter 2

Table 1.2 in CD2, pp. 10-12

9. (September 22) Single-Winner Elections

N. R. Miller, “Voting to Elect a Single Candidate” [distributed and website]

André Blais, “Electoral Systems” [CD2 Chapter 2], begin

10. (September 24) Multiple-Winner Elections

André Blais, “Electoral Systems” [CD2 Chapter 2], complete

N. R. Miller, “Voting to Elect Several Candidates” [distributed and website]

11. (September 27) Votes and Seats

N. R. Miller, “The Theory of Districted Elections” [distributed and website]

12. (September 29) Strategic Effects of Electoral Systems: Spoilers and Duverger’s Law

N. R. Miller, “Strategic (or Psychological) Effects in Voting Systems” [distributed and website]

Abramowitz, pp. 200-202 (preview)

13. (October 1) Strategic Effects of Electoral Systems: Party Convergence vs. Divergence

N. R. Miller, “Electoral Convergence and Divergence” [distributed and website]

Abramowitz, pp. 184-190 (preview)

14. (October 4) Referendums: Political Choice Without Parties or Candidates

Abramowitz, pp. 13-14 (review)

Lawrence LeDuc, “Referendums and Initiatives: The Politics of Direct Democracy” (CD2, Chapter 3)

Schier, Chapter 4

III. THE ELECTORATE AND ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION

15. (October 6) The Franchise and Voter Registration

Abramowitz, pp. 6-9, 14-16, 19-20, 31-34, 105-108 (review)

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 1-14

Schier, pp. 107-115

16. (October 8) Ballot Types

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 109-120

17. (October 11) Ballot Technology

Abramowitz, pp. 47-50 (review)

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 120-128

18. (October 13) Apportionment

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 14-21

Schier, pp. 115-118

19. (October 15) Districting

Abramowitz, pp. 20-23, 44-46 (review)

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 21-34

20. (October 18) Districting (cont.)

Schier, pp. 118-126

21. (October 20) Voting Turnout

Abramowitz, Chapter 4

Mark Franklin, “The Dynamics of Electoral Participation” (CD2, Chapter 7)

22. (October 22) Voting Turnout (cont.)

Schier, Chapter 3 and pp. 137-144

23. (October 25) In-Class Midterm Exam

III. THE AMERICAN PARTY SYSTEM

24. (October 27) The Electoral College and the Origins of the American Party System

Abramowitz, pp. 16-19 (review)

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 131-142

25. (October 29) Transformation and Effects of the Electoral College

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 142-158

Schier, pp. 97-107

26. (November 1) The Evolution of the American Party System

Abramowitz, pp. 23-27 (review)

N. R. Miller, “The American Party Systems” [distributed and website]

27. (November 3) Discussion of 2004 Election

28. (November 5) The Evolution of the American Party System (cont.)

Take-Home Exam Due

29. (November 8) Third Parties in American Politics

Abramowitz, pp. 200-2002 (preview)

IV. PARTY ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS

30. (November 10) Party Organization

Leon Epstein, “Political Parties: Organization” (1981) [E-reserves]

31. (November 12) Party Workers and Activists

Herbert McClosky, “Issue Conflict and Consensus Among Party Leaders and Followers,” American Political Science Review, June 1960 [E-reserves or JSTOR]

Aaron Wildavsky, “The Goldwater Phenomenon: Purists, Politicians, and the Two Party System,” Review of Politics, 1965 [E-reserves]

32. (November 15) Candidate Selection

Reuven Hazen, “Candidate Selection” (CD2, Chapter 5)

33. (November 17) The U.S. Direct Primary

Abramowitz, pp. 11-13, 46-47 (review)

34. (November 19) Primary Election (cont.)

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 42-60

35. (November 22) U.S. Presidential Nominations

Dudley and Gitelson, pp. 35-42

36. (November 22) U.S. Presidential Nominations (cont.)

Abramowitz, Chapter 5

37. (November 29) Political Money and Technology

Abramowitz, pp. 27-31, 50-55 (review)

Dudly and Gitelson, Chapter 3

38. (December 1) Political Money and Technology (cont.)

Dudley and Gitelson, Chapter 4

Scheir, pp. 48-51, 127-137

Pippa Norris, “Campaign Communications” (CD2, Chapter 6)

V. PARTIES AND THE ELECTORATE

39. (December 3) Electoral Partisanship and Ideology

Abramowitz, Chapter 3, begin

40. (December 5) Electoral Partisanship and Ideology (cont.)

Abramowitz, Chapter 3, complete

41. (December 8) Electoral Alignment and Dealignment

William Miller and Richard Niemi, “Voting: Choice, Conditioning, and Constraint” (CD2, Chapter 8)

42. (December 10) Contemporary Party Politics

Abramowitz, pp. 55-69 (review)

Abramowitz, Chapters 6 and 7

43. (December 13) Contemporary Party Politics (cont.)

Abramowitz, Chapter 8

Final Exam: Monday, December 20, 8:00-10:00 AM, in PUP 206