Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2127: Electoral Politics

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. Candidates and parties offer competing views of how government should function and what policies should be enacted, and then voters get to choose between these competing visions. Yet, this process of turning voter preferences into political outcomes is not always straightforward. This module aims to:

Improve understanding of how electoral politics and electoral process shape outcomes such as who gets elected and how governments form.
Examine how the “fundamentals” such as economic performance affect candidate performance.
Assess whether or not campaigns have a significant effect on election outcomes (i.e., how much do campaigns actually influence decisions of whether or not to vote, or who to vote for).
Examine the role of media and advertising in elections (including the role of new and social media).
Appreciate different and competing theories of voting behaviour.
Understand the process for recruiting candidates to run for office, with a particular focus on who is encouraged/recruited to run.
Examine interventions that increase voter turnout and other forms of political participation.
Promote improved critical thinking to analyse news events and issues related to elections in the UK and abroad.
Promote understanding of the definition and use of predictive social science models.
Improve your ability to critically analyse texts and to communicate effectively.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate knowledge of electoral politics processes and institutions, and how these differ across different national contexts 2. Appreciate the role of voters, campaigns, candidates, media, and context play in affecting electoral outcomes
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. Explain in a critical way how institutions and preferences combine to produce outcomes 4. Demonstrate understanding of the definition and use of predictive social science models
Personal and Key Skills	5. demonstrate critical thinking skills, particularly as they relate to evaluating empirical (quantitative) evidence; 6. demonstrate the ability to work independently within a limited time frame to complete a specified task 7. demonstrate writing skills and/or other presentation skills to facilitate more powerful communication

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

-How the “fundamentals” (such as economic performance and how long the incumbent party has been in power) help explain election outcomes

-How electoral rules shape electoral outcomes (e.g., “Duverger’s Law” in first past the post single member district system versus proportional representation systems)

-Whether or not campaigns have an effect on election outcomes/the effect of campaign activities on

-Competing theories of voting behaviour

-The role that scandal plays in affecting the electoral prospects of parties and candidates

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
26.5	123.5

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching activity	16.5	11 X 1.5-hour lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching activity	10	10 X 1-hour tutorials
Guided independent study	123.5	A variety of private study tasks directed by module leader. These tasks may include: Reading assignments Preparing assessments Following political news events

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).