Political actors Political behaviour

This course examines the function of elections as a mechanism of political representation from the perspective of democratic theory. It provides an in-depth analysis of citizens¿ electoral behavior and the main determinants of voting decisions¿such as social position, identities, values, and short-term factors like government performance, policies, candidates, and electoral campaigns. The course aims to understand the logic behind voters¿ decision-making as a way to explore the limits of democracy and assess the extent to which elections truly fulfill the ideal of self-government envisioned by democratic theory.

1. Democratic Theory and Political Representation: Elections as a Tool of Representation 2. Electoral Systems: Elements, Typologies, Effects, and Consequences 3. Theoretical Models of Electoral Behavior 4. The Social Bases of Voting 5. Identity, Ideology, and Electoral Behavior 6. Candidates, Policies, Events, and Electoral Campaigns 7. Elections and Accountability 8. Tools for Electoral Analysis

In lecture sessions the teacher will explain the main foundations of each unit. Some resources could be assigned to students in order to prepare the course. Work in seminar sessions will deal with comparing and analyzing cases suggested by the lecturer. The lecturer will suggest the resources and references to be used by the students prior to each seminar sesión. Those resources will be written both in Spanish and English.