1. What elections a for
    1. "Elections are the defining institution of modern democracy" (Katz)
      1. Originally direct democracy as in the agora in Greece
      2. Now more representative.
    2. Functions
      1. Competition for office
      2. Accountability
      3. Dialogue between government, political parties and citizens
      4. Confer legitimacy
  2. Explanation of the main types of voting systems
    1. Majoritarian systems
      1. Winner takes all
      2. Plurality systems, UK, USA, Canada, India)
        1. Country divided into electoral districts and the is effectively an election in each district
        2. Privileges lager parties
        3. Tends to deliver strong one party governments
        4. But it is possible to win she popular vote and lose the election
      3. Majority systems like France and Australia
        1. Preferential voting
    2. PR systems
      1. Forms of PR are the norm for most democracies
        1. Aims to achieve an accurate representation of parties, rather than just to elect representatives for a given area
        2. Ideally votes = seats, but rarely so in practice
        3. Often produces coalitions since a single party rarel wins a majority of seats.
        4. Examples
          1. Party list system - used in upwards of 70 countries including Netherlands and Brazil
          2. Citizens vote for a list of candidates ranked by the parties
          3. Multimemb constituencies
          4. Thresholds
          5. Most counties allow preferences for candidates
          6. Single transferable vote, such as in Ireland.
    3. Mixed systems
      1. Mixed member proportional/additional member system
      2. Citizens have two votes, one for a constituency candidate, the other for a regional party list
      3. Some of the representatives are elected from constituencies, the others are topped up from a party list in order to achieve a proportional outcome.
    4. Elections as a system of transforming citizen preferences into elected officials and governments. Converting votes into seats and offices.
    5. Party systems and electoral systems influence each other.
  3. Reflect on major issues of voter behaviour (psephology)
    1. Turnout
      1. Almost all countries have seen a decline in turnout since 1945
      2. Not the same for all countries
      3. Explanations?
    2. Voter choice
      1. Traditionally seen as somehow related to identity (eg class)
      2. Increasingly voters do not identify with parties
      3. Hague and Harrop identify four factors which xplain voter choice
        1. Political issues
        2. Economy
        3. Party leaders
        4. Party image
  4. Parties and party systems
    1. Defining political parties - what are political parties
      1. Broadly permanent organisations that contest elections in order to gain power/office within a state
        1. They pursue sectional interests - initially to represent a particular group in society
        2. Propose manifestos
        3. Are themselves coalitions of interests
        4. Source of political leaders
          1. But not for example in US where the formal party officers are not the same as those running for office
        5. Provide a. Link between the people and the state
        6. Mobilise mass support
        7. Are a lens through which citizens view complex world
    2. Consider different systems
      1. Party systems
        1. Dominant party system
          1. Eg like ANC in SA or Congress in India
        2. Two party system
          1. E.g. Like mostly UK or USA
        3. Multiparty system
          1. E.g. Belgium, Netherlands
      2. Party organisation
        1. Cadre or elite
          1. Formed by factions within the assemblies. They're not "electoral" forces but gatherings in the assembly after election
        2. Mass parties
          1. Originate outside the assembly to press for representation in the assembly e.g. Labour in UK
        3. Catch all
          1. Emphasis on governing rather than representing. Shifting away from sectional interests to appeal to all interests (e.g. New Labour)
        4. Generally speaking you could say that cadre parties tend to be rig wing and mass parties of the left
    3. Assess the left/right classification of parties
      1. Left-right
        1. Left - socialist, labour, social democrat, communist, green
          1. Split between revolutionary and evolutionary - e.g. Communist versus social democratic.
          2. Social democratic parties
          3. Traditionally campaigned for state ownership, free public services, wealth redistribution
          4. Now, "reformed" parties campaign for acceptance of free markets, public funding for (not delivery of) services, limited redistribution of wealth.
          5. Mobilise mass support - ESP working class
          6. Originate in social movements outside of government
          7. Tapped into trade unionism. A 'constituency' of support to reform capitalism
          8. Does this constituency still exist as working class declines as countries get wealthier
        2. Right - Christian democrat, republican, conservative
          1. Have been successful in most democracies (USA has never had a real left party for instance)
          2. They emerge from the elite housings in national assemblies ec
          3. Later develop mass support from middle classes and estalishment
          4. Examples
          5. UMP in France, PP in Spain
          6. Importance of Christian religion especially in mainland Europe
          7. Traditional policies
          8. National identity (defence)
          9. Traditional family values and social issues
          10. New Right, from 70s onward, moved toward free markets, personal responsibilities, attack on "big" government.
          11. New right ideas (more libertarian) sometimes clash with traditional social conservatism.
        3. Centre - liberal, democrat
      2. Constitutional versus revolutionary
      3. Elite versus mass parties
    4. Problems for political parties
      1. Is the party over?
      2. Falling memberships
        1. Vicious circle - without mass membership everything gets handled by elites, so fewer people think they represent them so fewer join.
      3. Waning social base
      4. Declining ideological differences
      5. Media/personality/issue driven