Universität Wien

210149 SE BAK13 State Activity, Policy and Governance Analyses (2021W)

Inter-election politics

6.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work
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Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 04.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 11.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 18.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 25.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 08.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 15.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 22.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 29.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 06.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 13.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 10.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 17.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 24.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital
  • Monday 31.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The seminar aims at understanding the dynamics of the electoral cycle and which choices politicians make at important stages of that cycle. In democracies elections set the pulse of politics. The seminar focuses on the democratic process between elections. However, this process is structured in many ways by the election just held and foreshadowed by the election to follow at the end of the legislative term. In the seminar we will study important episodes and aspects of the inter-election period and how they relate to the two elections. Political actors try to learn from past elections and anticipate future elections in making their moves and decisions in the inter-election period. Performing well in elections is important to political parties and their leaders – but it is not the only goal that matters. Political parties and politicians also care for winning government office and making policy gains (i.e. changing the policy status quo in the preferred direction). To some extent electoral success is a precondition of achieving office and policy goals, yet to some extent one goal can only be achieved at the cost of other goals. Political actors thus have to choose and find a balance between these goals. In the inter-election period this complex choice situation appears in many situations some of particular importance will be studied in the seminar.

Relevant situations and topics include:
• Forming a government
• Electoral performance and party leaders’ accountability
• The cost of governing and the clarity of responsibility
• How do parties in government keep their voters loyal?
• Coalition dynamics
• How to deal with the opposition (government)?
• Can losers win?
• Which tricks governments play to improve their re-election chances?
• Preparing for the next election, preparing for the next government formation

Method: Joint reading and discussing a set of academic articles and chapters; presentations on the readings by seminar participants; presentation of the seminar participants’ own work.

Assessment and permitted materials

Active participation, student presentations, term paper

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

(1) Presence in seminar (with a maximum of 2 agreed-upon missings) and active participation in the discussions (requiring engagement with the readings and substantive problems) (15 % of the grade)
(2) Two or three seminar presentations on texts (30 % of the grade)
(3) Seminar paper ca. 5000–6000 words, without references (55 % of the grade)

Examination topics

See Readinglist (to be completed in the course of the seminar)

Reading list

References (Selection):
Arndt, C., C. Jensen & G. Wenzelburger (2021). Voters' wrath? Policy change and government popularity. Governance, 34:147–169.
Bernardi, L. (2020). From popularity to vulnerability: An application to dynamic representation in coalition governments. Party Politics, 26(4): 459–470.
Betz, T. (2020). The electoral costs of policy commitments. Political Science Research and Methods, 8: 30–44.
De Vries, C. E. & S. B. Hobolt (2015). Issue Entrepreneurship and Multiparty Competition. Comparative Political Studies, 48(9): 1159–1185.
Drazen, A. & M. Eslava (2010). Electoral Manipulation Via Voter-Friendly Spending: Theory and Evidence. Journal of Development Economics, 92(1), 39–52.
Ecker, A. & T. M. Meyer (2020). Coalition Bargaining Duration in Multiparty Democracies. British Journal of Political Science, 50: 261–280.
Ennser-Jedenastik, L. & G. Schumacher (2015). Why Some Leaders Die Hard (and Others Don’t): Party Goals, Party Institutions, and How They Interact. In W. Cross & J. B. Pilet (eds.), The Politics of Party Leadership: A Cross-National Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ferland, B. (2020). Party responsiveness to public opinion and party supporters: Revisiting the mechanisms and motivations. Party Politics, 26(4): 366–378.
Golder, S. N. (2006). Pre-Electoral Coalition Formation in Parliamentary Democracies. British Journal of Political Science 36(2): 193–212.
Hjermitslev, I. B. (2020). The electoral cost of coalition participation: Can anyone escape? Party Politics, 26(4): 510–520.
Huber, L. et al. (2020). Disseminating legislative debates: How legislators communicate the parliamentary agenda. Party Politics, online first, DOI: 10.1177/1354068820982555.
König, P. & G. Wenzelburger (2017). Honeymoon in the Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of the Strategic Timing of Austerity Policies and Their Effect on Government Popularity in Three Countries. Comparative European Politics 15(6), 991–1015.
Lupia, A. & K. Strøm (1995). Coalition Termination and the Strategic Timing of Parliamentary Elections. American Political Science Review, 89(3): 648–665.
Maravall, J. M. (2010). Accountability in Coalition Governments. Annual Review of Political Science, 13: 81–100.
Müller, S. (2020) Media Coverage of Campaign Promises Throughout the Electoral Cycle. Political Communication, 37:5, 696–718.
Müller, S. & T. Louwerse (2020). The electoral cycle effect in parliamentary democracies. Political Science Research and Methods, 8: 795–802.
Pardos-Prado, S. & I. Sagarzazu (2019). Economic Responsiveness and the Political Conditioning of the Electoral Cycle. Journal of Politics, 81(2): 441–455.
Sagarzazu, I. & H. Klüver (2017). Coalition Governments and Party Competition: Political Communication Strategies of Coalition Parties. Political Science Research and Method 5(2): 333–49.
Schleiter, P. & M. Tavits (2018). Voter Reactions to Incumbent Opportunism. Journal of Politics 80(4): 1185–1196.
Beckman; T. & P. Schleiter, P. (2020). Opportunistic Election Timing, a Complement or Substitute for Economic Manipulation? Journal of Politics, 82(3): 1127–1141.
Schröder, V. & C. Stecker (2018). The Temporal Dimension of Issue Competition. Party Politics 24(6): 708–718.
Seeberg, H. B. (2020). The impact of opposition criticism on the public’s evaluation of government competence. Party Politics, 26(4): 484–495.
Seeberg, H. B. (2020). First avoidance, then engagement: Political parties’ issue competition in the electoral cycle. Party Politics, online first DOI: 10.1177/1354068820970353.
Klüver, H. & Spoon, J.-J. (2020). Helping or Hurting? How Governing as a Junior Coalition Partner Influences Electoral Outcomes. Journal of Politics, 82(4): 1131–1142.
Thomson, R. et al. (2017). The Fulfillment of Parties’ Election Pledges: A Comparative Study on the Impact of Power Sharing. American Journal of Political Science 61(3): 527–542.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:19