PSCI 370: Comparative Representation and Accountability Spring 2011 Zeynep Somer-Topcu Office: 301A Calhoun Hall

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1 PSCI 370: Comparative Representation and Accountability Spring 2011 Zeynep Somer-Topcu Office: 301A Calhoun Hall Office Hours: Tuesdays 4-5pm and Wednesdays 11am-noon, and whenever my door is open Course Objectives and Outline: This research seminar presents several themes on the topic of political representation and democratic accountability in both advanced industrial societies and developing democracies. The goals for this seminar are twofold. First, we will seek to understand the differences and connections between procedural and substantive representations by political parties, individual legislatures, and governments by focusing on both the American and comparative studies on representation. Second, we will evaluate democratic accountability both in the established and developing democracies. Although this course is explicitly comparative, some of the class materials directly address issues in American politics. One of the central focuses of the course is the contrast between the "American model" of representation, with its focus on the link between individual legislators and their geographically-based constituencies, and the responsible party model which dominates the study of representation in Western Europe. We will also spend one or two weeks discussing representation and accountability in less developed democracies of post-communist Europe and Latin America. Requirements: Class participation 20% Class participation is an essential part of this seminar. The course will require a substantial amount of reading, which must be completed prior to the class period so that you participate actively. Your performance during the Q&A section of class presentations will also affect your participation grade. Critical short essays and discussion questions on readings %20 Each student will submit one page essay (single-space) each week reacting to the major issues discussed in the readings. These essays should not be summaries, but critical and analytical evaluations of all the readings. You must me these essays by 9am on Wednesdays before the class. These essays will be followed by three written discussion questions. With these questions you must demonstrate that you have carefully read and understood the readings individually as well as the linkages among the readings. 1

2 Final paper 40% Each student will write a research paper. This will be a full research paper (including theory, literature review, research design, and data analysis) on the topic of your choice (related to political representation or accountability). This paper should not be more than 20 doublespaced pages (excluding bibliography, tables and figures). The details for the paper will be distributed later. Paper presentations 15% Each student will present their research paper in class towards the end of the semester. The presentations will be no longer than 15 minutes (similar to conference proceedings). You must use power-point, keynote, or beamer for these presentations. These presentations will be followed by discussant comments (see below) and by a Q&A section. Your grade will be determined based on your presentation and your performance during the Q&A section. Discussant Comments 5% Each student will discuss one other paper (following the presentation) for at most 10 minutes. These discussant comments should be written and distributed to class before the class. You are encouraged to use visual aids and do additional research for an effective discussion. Required Readings: Some readings are political science journal articles that you can easily download from the Heard Library. There are some articles from journals which are not available at Vanderbilt. These articles and book chapters have asterisks in front them. I will post these articles and the chapters on OAK. The following books are required for this course. All books should be available in the bookstore. Duch, Raymond and Randy Stevenson The Economic Vote. Cambridge University Press. ISBN : Pitkin, Hanna Concept of Representation. University of California Press. ISBN : Powell, Bingham Elections as Instruments of Democracy. Yale University Press. ISBN : Przeworski, Adam, Susan Carol Stokes, and Bernard Manin Democracy, Accountability, & Representation. Cambridge University Press. ISBN :

3 Stokes, Susan Carol Mandates & Democracy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN : Zaller, John Nature & Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge University Press. ISBN : Course Schedule: January 13: Introduction- Syllabus January 20: The Theory of Representation Pitkin, Hanna Concept of Representation. Stasavage, David When Distance Mattered: Geographic Scale and the Development of European Representative Assemblies. American Political Science Review 104: January 27: Constituency Representation in American Context ** Dalton, Russell "Political Representation," Chapter 11 in Citizen Politics. Miller, Warren and Donald Stokes "Constituency Influence in Congress." American Political Science Review: Achen, Christopher Measuring Representation. American Journal of Political Science 22: Eric Smith, et al "Public Opinion and Congressional Representation," Public Opinion Quarterly: J. Tobin Grant, Thomas J. Rudolph The Job of Representation in Congress: Public Expectations and Representative Approval Legislative Studies Quarterly, 29: February 3: Dynamic Representation Stimson, James Party Government and Responsiveness. In Democracy, Accountability, and Representation. 3

4 Stimson, James, Michael MacKuen, and Robert Erikson Dynamic Representation. American Political Science Review 89: Adams, James, Michael Clark, Lawrence Ezrow, and Garrett Glasgow Understanding Change and Stability in Party Ideologies: Do Parties Respond to Public Opinion or to Past Election Results? British Journal of Political Science 34(4): McDonald, Michael D., Sylvia Mendes, and Ian Budge What Are Elections For?: Conferring the Median Mandate. British Journal of Political Science 34: Wleizen, Chris "The Public as Thermostat: Dynamics of Preferences for Spending. American Journal of Political Science 39(4): ** Soroka, S. N. and C. Wleizen Degrees of Democracy. Ch. 1-2 February 10: The Effects of Electoral Systems on Representation and Accountability Powell, Bingham Elections as Instruments of Democracy. Golder, Matt and Jacek Stramski "Ideological Congruence and Electoral Institutions." American Journal of Political Science 54: February 17: Subconstituency Representation Russell Dalton "Political Parties and Political Representation. Comparative Political Studies: Adams, James, and Lawrence Ezrow Who do European parties represent? How Western European parties represent the policy preferences of opinion leaders. Journal of Politics 71(1): ** Ezrow, Lawrence, Catherine E. De Vries, Marco Steenbergen, and Erica E. Edwards. Mean Voter Representation and Partisan Constituency Representation: Do Parties Respond to the Mean Voter Position or to their Supporters? Forthcoming, Party Politics. ** Bartels, Larry M (2008) Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age, ch.9. 4

5 Ellis, Christopher R., Joseph Daniel Ura, and Jenna Ashley-Robinson "The Dynamic Consequences of Nonvoting in American National Elections". Political Research Quarterly 59 (2): Soroka, S. N. and C. Wlezien "On the Limits to Inequality in Representation." PS: Political Science & Politics 41(2): February 24: Representation and the limitations of uninformed voters: Is there a public opinion" to represent? ** Dalton, Russell "The Nature of Mass Beliefs," in Citizen Politics, chapter 2. ** Converse, Phillip "The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics," in David Apter, editor, Ideology and Discontent. Achen, Christopher Mass Political Attitudes and the Survey Response. American Political Science Review 69: Zaller, John The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Chapters 1-7, 12. March 3: Comparative Accountability Adam Przeworski, et al., eds. (1999). Democracy, Accountability, and Representation. Ch. 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 11. Kitschelt, Herbert ""Linkages between Citizens and Politicians in Democratic Polities." Comparative Political Studies 33(6/7): March 17: Economic Voting (Randy Stevenson will be our guest) Duch, Raymond and Randy Stevenson The Economic Vote. March 24: An alternate perspective on mass-elite policy linkages: directional voting and policy expectations theory 5

6 Rabinowitz, George, and Stuart Elaine Macdonald (1989). "A directional theory of issue voting." American Political Science Review 83: Iversen, Torben "Political Leadership and Representation in West European Democracies: A Test of Three Models of Voting." American Journal of Political Science 38(1): Lacy, Dean and Philip Paolino Downsian voting and the separation of powers. American Journal of Political Science 42: Kedar, Orit "When Moderate Voters Prefer Extreme Parties: Policy Balancing in Parliamentary Elections." American Political Science Review 99(2): Adams, James, Benjamin Bishin, and Jay Dow Representation in congressional campaigns: Evidence for directional/discounting effects in U.S. Senate elections. Journal of Politics 66(2): Bawn, Kathleen and Zeynep Somer-Topcu. Government versus Opposition at the Polls: How Governing Status Changes the Impact of Policy Position on Vote Share working paper. March 31: no class- Midwest Conference April 7: Representation and Accountability in Post-Communist Europe ** Kitschelt, Herbert, Zdenka Mansfeldova, Radoslaw Markowski, Gabor Toka Post-Communist Party Systems. Chapter 2 and 9. Rohrschneider, Robert and Stephen Whitefield Representation in New Democracies: Party Stances on European Integration in Post-Communist Eastern Europe. Journal of Politics 69: Whitefield, Stephen Mind the Representation Gap: Explaining Differences in Public Views of Representation in Postcommunist Democracies. Comparative Political Studies 39(6): Duch, Raymond M A Developmental Model of Heterogeneous Economic Voting in New Democracies. American Political Science Review 95: Roberts, Andrew Hyperaccountability: Economic Voting in Central and Eastern Europe. Electoral Studies 27:

7 April 14: Representation and Accountability in Latin America Stokes, Susan Carol Mandates & Democracy. ** Kitschelt, Herbert, Kirk A. Hawkins, Juan Pablo Luna, Guillermo Rosas, Elizabeth J. Zechmeister. Latin American Party Systems. ch. 1 and 4 Remmer, K.L The Political Impact of Economic Crisis in Latin America in the 1980s. American Political Science Review 85: April 21-28: Paper Presentations 7