Elections

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Chapter 9

• Elections Voters (cont.)

2
Update

• Assignment 1 due Tuesday, July 19 (discussion?)
• This week
• - Quiz 3 (Ch. 8) Quiz 4 (Ch. 9)
• - Ch. 9, Ch. 10 (possibly Ch. 11)
• Today Exam 1 finish Ch. 9

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Exam

• MC questions brief discussion
• Concept definitions
• Short answers
• Questions, comments, concerns
• Check my math!

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MCQ 14

• Britain emphasizes representation (parliament has
  absolute authority)
• US gives priority to limited government (checks
  and balances)
• See USA vs. Britain contrast (p. 41)

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ID Governance

• (i) the activity of making collective decisions,
  (ii) a task in which government institutions may
  not play a leading, or even any, role
• 2 elements (i) collective decision-making (ii)
  role of government
• Government sometimes, but not always

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ID Theocracy

• Definition government by religious leaders
• Examples ancient Israel, or post-1979 Iran
• Saudi Arabia?
• Although religion plays an important role, it is
  not religious government

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ID Functional equivalence

• Def different institutions are functionally
  equivalent when they fulfill the same role within
  the political system
• Example military coups in LDCs f.e. of elections
  in Western democracies
• Different institutions, not different labels

8
1. Authority legitimacy

• Authority is the right to rule (rather than the
  power to do so).
• A government is legitimate when is based on
  authority (its subjects recognize its
  decision-making right)
• Difference? Authority - a specific position,
  legitimacy - an entire government

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2. Three kinds of media effects

• Box 7.3, p. 114 media effects
• Reinforcement
• Agenda-setting
• Framing

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3. Representative democracy, liberal D,
relationship to original concept of D

• Originally democracy was about self-rule (direct
  D) no distinction between rulers and the ruled
• Subsequently, democracy became representative
  rather than direct

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• Also, democracy is now liberal public vs.
  private distinction
• Both represent fundamental qualifications to
  strict rule by the people
• Continuity (rule by the people) and change
  (representative limited government)

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4. Modern vs. traditional authoritarianism

• Traditional A authority is owed to the ruler
  himself
• Modern A mobilization and control
• ? development of state
• ? industrial revolution
• ? communication

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5. Civic culture democracy

• Civic culture mix of participant, subject, and
  parochial political culture
• Civic culture ? democracy

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Designs most similar vs. most different
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Most similar design example

• Growth of social security programs in US
  Canada
• Cases (US Canada) similar
• Variable dissimilar
• - dependent SS programs
• - independent ideology

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Most different design example

• Explaining two-party systems across the world
• Cases (US, Canada, UK, India) different
• Variable similar
• - dependent two-party system
• - independent electoral system (FPTP)

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9. Elections Voters (cont.)

• Electoral systems wrap-up
• - Two ways of limiting proportionality in PR
  systems
• - Duvergers law
• - Mechanical psychological effects

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Limiting proportionality in PR

• Two ways
• EITHER lowering district magnitude (e.g., Spain
  7, Chile 2)
• OR raising the threshold (Germany 5, Turkey
  10)

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Maximizing proportionality

• Neither of the above
• BOTH high district magnitude
• (M S Netherlands M S 150)
• AND very low threshold (Italy 1946 0.15)

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Duvergers Law

• Electoral systems ?? Party systems
• Law Correlation between FPTP and two-party
  systems
• Why? Two effects of electoral systems (i)
  mechanical (ii) psychological

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• Mechanical effect refers to what electoral
  systems actually do
• Psychological effect refers to how voters react
  to the working of the electoral system
• Duverger institutional analysis
• Electoral system ? Party system

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Sociological approach (Rokkan)

• Duverger got the story backwards
• Electoral system ? Party system