402131 VU Political Communication and Electoral Analysis - Enhanced Level

winter semester 2021/2022 | Last update: 27.09.2023 Place course on memo list
402131
VU Political Communication and Electoral Analysis - Enhanced Level
VU 2
7,5
Block
each semester
German

Students acquire the ability to list different approaches to electoral analysis and party research as well as political communication and media research. Moreover, they know how to analyse the influence of public opinion to politics.

Democratic Representation and Conflict in Federal Systems

In the past decades, many European states have undergone processes of federalization reaching a considerable degree of political decentralization. These developments have far-reaching implications for the functioning of democracy. There are three normative promises associated with federalism: democratization, efficiency, and resolution of ethnic conflict. Has the federalization of Western European states kept these promises? This seminar deals with political processes in federal systems and discusses how (new and old) multi-level structures influence important goals of democratic representation. A first theoretical part looks at various forms of federal systems and the causes of decentralization reforms. A second more empirical part deals with elections and parties in multi-level systems. Practical units with quantitative data introduce students to the analysis of the territorial dimension of political competition. The third and final part analyses the effects of various crises – Great Recession and Covid19 – on federal systems. The focus is on the intensification of territorial inequalities, processes of re-centralization as well as the emergence of populist parties and secessionist pressures.

Lecture course with exercises, data analysis

Presentation and essay by the end of the semester

Alonso, Sonia (2012). Challenging the State: Devolution and the Battle for Partisan Credibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Däubler, Thomas, Jochen Müller and Christian Stecker (eds.) (2018). Regionalisation – virtue or vice? Assessing democratic representation in multi-level democracies. West European Politics, Volume 41, Issue 3.
Loughlin, John, John Kincaid and Wilfried Swenden (eds.) (2013). Routledge Handbook of Regionalism & Federalism. Abingdon: Routledge.

successful completion of compulsory modules 1, 2, 3 and 9

see dates
Group 0
Date Time Location
Fri 2021-12-17
14.00 - 19.00 eLecture - online eLecture - online
Fri 2022-01-14
14.00 - 19.00 eLecture - online eLecture - online
Sat 2022-01-15
09.00 - 14.00 eLecture - online eLecture - online
Fri 2022-01-28
14.00 - 19.00 eLecture - online eLecture - online
Sat 2022-01-29
09.00 - 14.00 eLecture - online eLecture - online