This module aims to enable students to develop an advanced understanding of contemporary developments and debate about political parties, party systems and democracy.

On successful completion of the module a student will be able to:

Understand the main arguments about the changing nature and identity of political parties, the nature of party systems and the significance of parties and party systems for contemporary democracy.

How the module will be delivered

Weekly seminars of approximately one and a half hours duration.

Skills that will be practised and developed

On completion of this module, a typical student will be able to demonstrate skills in the following areas

Knowledge and understanding: of key theoretical approaches to the understanding of political parties and party systems as well as of empirical cases, particularly in Europe, and especially in Western Europe.

Intellectual Skills: Conceptual analysis including the ability to synthesise and evaluate information and to use logic and empirical evidence to formulate and present rigorous arguments.

Practical and Transferrable Skills: Communication and reflection through participation in the seminars; use of information and communications technology for the retrieval information; management of his/her own learning; gathering, organising and deploying evidence, data and information from a variety of sources; working independently.

Summative assessment is by essay. This will enable students to demonstrate thoroughly researched knowledge and understanding of a key issue in the field of party and party system studies, in its full context.

Formative assessment is by essay.

The opportunity for reassessment in this module

An essay may be submitted at the end of the first week of the summer assessment period.

Syllabus content

Topics from among:

·         Democracy: What do we know? What challenges does it face and how serious are they?

·         Party families

·         Party change

·         Cleavages and cleavage structures: social, organisational and ideational dimensions

·         Party systems: structures of interaction; types

·         Party system change: societally driven? The role of parties; political agency.

·         Social Democratic Parties

·         The Right of the Right

·         Strategies of party competition in action

Indicative Reading and Resource List:

There is no core text for this module. Particularly useful texts are:

Mair, P. (1990). The West European Party System, Oxford University Press. A reader, a good source for key texts.

Dalton, R.J., D.M. Farrell & I. McAllister (2011). Political Parties and Democratic Linkage: How Parties Organize Democracy, Oxford University Press

It is important to be up-to-date on this module, so press, periodical and web information on European elections should be followed.

Students should keep abreast of key journals, such as Comparative European Politics; European Journal of Political Research; Party Politics; West European Politics.