Prof Torun Dewan CON6.07

This course is available on the MSc in European Studies: Ideas and Identities (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Political Science and Political Economy and MSc in Politics and Government in the European Union. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

There are no formal prerequisites.

The course focuses on key topics in political science concerning voting and representation. Topics covered include:

• Party and Candidate Strategy

• The Role and Origins of Parties

• Government Formation and Termination

• Electoral Systems: Franchise, Ballot, and Allocation formulas

• Leadership

• Political Careers

• Government Accountability

Examples will be drawn from a wide range of democracies.

20 hours of seminars in the LT. 4 hours of seminars in the ST.

All students are expected to submit one non-assessed essay.

The course is focussed mainly on journal articles. However the following books are relevant to some of the topics covered

Gary Cox, Making Votes Count (1995); Gary Cox & Mathew McCubbins, Setting the Agenda (2005); George Tsebelis, Veto Players (2002); Kenneth Shepsle and Mark Boncheck, Analysing Politics (1997); Tim Besley, Principled Agents (2005); John Aldrich , Why Parties (1995) ; Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. Alastair Smith, Randolph Siverson and James Morrow, The Logic of Political Survival (2003); Giovanni Sartori, Comparative Constitutional Engineering (1997); Michael Laver & Norman Schofield, MultiParty Government: The Politics of Coalition in Europe (1990).

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.