Political Parties and Elections

This module introduces electoral and party politics in modern democracies. It will involve the discussion of a wide range of theoretical approaches to the study of parties and elections and assess their applicability to non-western cases.

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

On successful completion of this module a student will be able to:

• Understand the functioning of democratic parties
• Analyse how parties compete for votes
• Understand the effect of different electoral systems
• Test a range of political theories on parties and elections

Workload

This module will be taught over 10 weeks with:

• 1 hour lecture 
• 1 hour tutorial

Method of assessment

• Assignment 1: 20%
• Assignment 2: 70%
• PR1: Presentation 10%

Suggested reading

• LeDuc, Niemi and Norris, Comparing Democracies: Elections and Voting in a Changing World (Sage)
• Caramani, Daniele. (2011) Comparative politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Alan Ware. (1996) Political parties and party systems, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• McNair, An Introduction to Political Communication (Routledge 2011)
• Lees-Marchment, Principles and Applications (Routledge 2009)

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules