Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS CreditsLast Updated Date
7POLS 401Political Parties and Elections3+0+03504.01.2022

 
Course Details
Language of Instruction Turkish
Level of Course Unit Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program Political Science and Public Administration (English)
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Compulsory
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course The course political parties and elections provides an overview of the literature on political parties and the elections. The goal is to explore the main questions, puzzles and theories on the origins and nature of parties and the peculiaries of the elections that they go through. How did the parties emerge? How do the institutions, societal cleavages and strategic actions influence parties and electoral results? Why do
some countries have more parties than others? What are the reasons for differences in ideology and party organization?
The course will also focus on the effects of parties on the quality of democracy and governance, as well as their role
in non-democratic regimes. The course will finally take a close look at the issues of party change, party system collapse, party competition, party institutionalization, and electoral systems with the additional analysis of role of ethnic parties, the rise of extremist parties, the relationship between parties and clientelism, and the role of dominant parties.
Course Content Origins and nature of parties, party and electoral systems, ideology and party, party institutionalization, importance of parties and elections for democracies, extremist parties, party rivalry
Course Methods and Techniques
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator None
Name of Lecturers Asist Prof.Dr. Hakan Köni
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources NA
Course Notes Anika Gauja. Political Parties and Elections: Legislating for Representative (Democracy. London: Taylor and Francis, 2016).

Peter Mair (ed.) The West European Party System. (Oxford University Press, 1990)

Anthony Downs. 1957. Economic Theory of Democracy.

Peter Mair, Wolfgang C. Müller & Fritz Plasser (eds.), Political Parties
and Electoral Change (London-Thousand Oaks-New Delhi, Sage Publications, 2004)

Russell Dalton. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in
Advanced Industrial Democracies (Washington: Sage/Congressional Quarterly Press, 2019).
Documents NA
Assignments NA
Exams NA

Course Category
Social Sciences %100

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Mid-terms 1 % 30
Assignment 2 % 8
Attendance 1 % 10
Project 1 % 15
Final examination 1 % 37
Total
6
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Course Duration 14 3 42
Hours for off-the-c.r.stud 14 5 70
Assignments 2 8 16
Mid-terms 1 17 17
Project 1 15 15
Final examination 1 20 20
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 6 180

 
Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
NoLearning Outcomes
1 Student can understand and evaluate different normative views on the roles of the parties in a pluralist democracy, and the controversies regarding the issues like candidate nominations, campaign financing, lobbying, and polarization.
2 Öğrenci, siyasi partilerin ideolojik oluşum, seçim rekabeti, örgütsel yapılanma ve politika uygulamasındaki davranışlarına ilişkin kapsamlı bir kavrayış edinir.
3 The student learns about attempts and difficulties relating to party and election reform.
4 Student understands that parties have different functions and interests, and orientations and they differ remarkably in their defense of ideas and policies.

 
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Introduction & Course Overview
2 Origins of Political Parties I
3 Origins of Political Parties II
4 Electoral Rules, Parties and Party Systems
5 Party Goals and Organization
6 Party Competition and Strategy I
7 Party Competition and Strategy II
8 Midterm
9 Clientalism
10 Party Systems in New Democracies
11 Party and Party System Change
12 Dominant Party and Parties in Non-Democracies
13 Interest Groups I
14 Interest Groups II
15 Final Exam

 
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10
All 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 4 4 4
C1 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 4 4 5
C2 4 5 5 5 4 5 5 4 4 4
C3 5 4 5 4 5 5 5 5 5 4
C4 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 4 4 4

  Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant