Political Science 450                        Todd Donovan
Parties, Campaigns and Elections      AHH  424/ x3018                       
Office: Mon-Thurs, 10-11
                                            and by appt. 




Course theme: The American political system and many others 
are characterized by highly stable, institutionalized 
competition between political parties.  Campaigns and 
elections typically take place within this framework of long-
term stability.  To understand electoral competition and 
electoral change, we must first examine the long-term, 
structural aspects of the system: political institutions, 
parties, and "deep" attachments that voters might have.  
Following this, we focus more on the dynamics of competition 
and the prospect for change or decay in long-term stability.



Course texts:

Beck, Paul and Frank Sorauf.  1992. Party Politics in 
America. (Seventh edition). Harper Collins. 

Gant, Michael and Norman Luttbeg. 1990. American Electoral 
Behavior: 1952-1988.  (F.E. Peacock).

Wanye, Stephen and Clyde Wilcox.  The Quest for National 
Office: Readings on Elections.  St. Martin's Press.

A small packet of photocopied articles may be available for 
purchase at a location off campus.


Course tasks:

This course is structured in a lecture/discussion format.  
Students will be graded based upon comprehension of reading 
and lecture materials.  Contributions to course discussions 
will also be factored into the grade.  Students are expected 
to have completed discussion readings (marked with an 
asterisk in the syllabus) prior to class meetings.  
Examinations will be written in essay and/or short answer 
formats.  A term research paper, to be discussed latter, will 
be completed by each student. 

Grading:

mid-term examination          25%
final examination             35%
term paper                    25%
contributions to discussion   10% 
ALL DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Lecture Topics            STRUCTURAL FORCES

I.   Course Introduction.                             (9/24)

II . Institutional determinants of party competition  (9/29)  
 
    READ: Beck; Chpt. 1 & 2
      W&W; pp. (Reichley) 5-15.

III. Programmatic parties vs. vote maximizing parties (10/1)
  A.  A brief history of American parties.

    READ: Beck; Chpt. 18*

  B. The American electorate and political parties.   (10/6)
    1. The Michigan Model/Issueless politics          (10/8)
    2. The ideological/issue voter.
    3. The economic voter.

    READ: Gant and Luttbeg; Chapter 1 & 2
      Beck, Chapter 7
      W&W (Dahl) pp 265-275* and (Biersack) pp. 290-302

IV.  Critical elections and system change.           (10/13)
   A. Realignment, dealignment. 

    READ: Beck; Chapter 6
      Gant and Luttbeg, Chapter 6
      W&W (Ladd) 79-84*

SHORT-TERM DYNAMICS OF COMPETITION

V.   Choosing national candidates.                   (10/15)
                                                     (10/20)
    READ Souraf Chapters 9 & 10
      W&W 107-130*

VI.  Political manipulation of the economy           (10/22)

    READ Tufte (in reader).

VII.  Pollsters and polling: opinion manipulation    (10/27)

    READ Hitchens (in reader)*



MIDTERM EXAMINATION                                  
(10/29)



VIII. The video medium: news and hits that matter     (11/3) 

    READ W&W; Chapter 7*

IX.   TBA                                             (11/5)


X.    Strategies and "the new campaigning"           (11/10)  
    READ Beck Chapter 12
     W&W Chapter 6 and pp. 225-238*

XI.   Campaign Finance                               (11/12)     

    READ Beck and Souraf Chapter 13
     W&W; Chapter 2*

XII.  Consequences: Turnout and Participation        (11/17)

    READ Beck and Souraf Chapter 8
     Gant and Luttbeg; Chapter 3
     W&W; (Teixeria) 98-106*

XIII. Consequences: Divided government               (11/19)

    READ Gant and Luttbeg; Chapter 5
     W&W;  (Ornstein) pp. 19 - 36*

XIII. Tune-out and Turnoff?                          (11/24)
                                                   
    READ Gant and Luttbeg; Chapter 4*
     
THANKSGIVING VACATION                                
(11/26)


XIV.  The Future of American Politics?                (12/1)
                                                      (12/3)
    READ Beck and Souraf, Chapter 17*


FINAL EXAMINATION                    Wed. Dec 9th; 1:00 
p.m.