Introduction to American Mass
Political Behavior & Elections
MU MVZ 449
Spring 2010
Masaryk University
Department of Int'l Relations &
European Studies
Dave McCuan
MVZ 449
Spring 2010
First Meeting
* Course materials available on MU Information System (IS)
­ Lecture materials uploaded to IS along with many critical readings
* Today's agenda:
­ Distribution of syllabus, discussion of assignments, key dates, &
course tasks; intro to key questions;
­ MIDTERM EXAM DATE: Mid-April sometime
­ NO CLASS: Wednesday, 28 April 2010
­ READING WEEK & NO CLASS: Wednesday 31 March 2010
Mass Behavior, Campaigns &
Elections: An Introduction
Several topics this semester:
* Rational choice behavior in political life
* The Spatial Model revisited ­ Electoral
responsiveness
* The mechanics of the process: How do we
choose our leaders?
* The campaign: Strategy, tactics, & consequences
* The role of the media
* Campaign financing structure
* How do people decide for whom to vote?
* The place of negative campaigning
The Spatial Model Revisited
* What does the Spatial Model look like in
mathematical terms? In conceptual terms?
* Apply to Elections
­ Electoral system matters: PR vs. Plurality rule
­ Plurality rule system
* One-dimensional policy space
* Single-peaked utility function
* Majority rule
* Prediction: Candidate convergence in elections
Democratic Seats and Votes
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996
Year
PercentVotes/Seats
Percent Seats
Percent Votes
Obama Approval Numbers, #1
Obama Approval Numbers, #2
Recent Obama Job Approval Numbers
Where's the convergence?
* Presidential candidates?
* Congressional candidates?
* Why does the median voter theorem fail?
­ Primaries?
­ Candidate reputation?
­ Different distinct medians?
* Importance of parties
Political Parties in American
Politics
* Parties serve goals of candidates
­ Parties regulate competition for office
­ Parties avoid chaos in Congress
­ "Party" in government can lead to "party" in
the electorate
­ Parties can coordinate action across different
levels of government
* Perverse consequences
Campaigns & Elections
* The importance of elections
* Elections ensure that government can be
responsive to its citizens
* Properties of elections legitimate process
­ Elections are regular
­ Everyone gets one vote
­ Procedures are in place so we can (usually)
agree who won
The Dynamics of the Electoral
Campaign
* Winnowing
* The "Big Mo"
­ Election ­ The horserace
­ Pre-Election: Name recognition and money
* The Horserace
­ Creating Momentum