6329 - Democracy, Electoral Systems and Voting Behaviour
Course information
- Title
- Democracy, Electoral Systems and Voting Behaviour
- Course number
- 6329.24
- Academic year
- 2023-2024
- ECTS
- 10.00
- Level
- Bachelor
- Faculties
- History and Social Sciences
- Educations
- BA in History, BSSc in Social Sciences, BSSc in Politics and Administration
- Prerequisites
- Upper secondary education or equivalent qualification.
- Language of instruction
- The course is taught in Faroese.
- Registration
- Students on the fourth semester of Bachelor of Social Science in Political Science, Bachelor of Social Science in Social Science, Bachelor of Arts in History and applicants for an individual course apply via the Faculty of History and Social Sciences Office.
- Beginning date
- Monday, January 29, 2024
- End date
- Monday, May 27, 2024
Academic content
- Purpose
- That the student will acquire a thorough understanding of Democracy theory, concepts, and as a phenomenon, and how democracy is applied in practice.
- Learning outcomes
- Upon completion of the course, the student shall be able to: • Explain what Democracy as a governing system is, and where it originated. • Explain the different perspectives on Democracy, taught during the course, and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. • Analyse how democracy works based on knowledge about democratic models and institutions. • Describe the role of political actors in a democratic system. • To evaluate and compare electoral systems, and to have a theoretical approach to voting behaviour. • Be able to asses relevant democratic issues in the contemporary society in a conscious and reasoned way, and to analyse election results and representation.
- Content
- In this course, we will study what democracy is, its origin in ancient Greece, and different perspectives on contemporary Democracy. During the course, students will learn about different competing perspectives on Democracy (e.g. Liberal-, Constitutional-, Republican-, and Deliberative Democracy), democratic theories and models, and how democratic institutions work in practice. In the second part of the course we will analyse representation, elctions and electoral systems. What effect does an electoral system have on the allocation of seats in parliament and voting behaviour? Does gender, age, income, social status e.t.c. have and effect on the electorate, and how does an election campaign influence the voters? We will examine electoral results and current elections plus how to design an election poll. The concept of representation will be studied and we will discuss some of the main challenges facing Democracy in the 21th century.
- Learning and teaching approaches
- The course is 30 hours, and consists of lectures, group-work, and student presentations
Assessment
- Assessment method
- Written exam (5 hours).
- Examination (internal/external)
- External
- Grading scale
- 7-scale
- Exam date/dates
- The written assignment is set for 13 June 2024.
- Deadline for withdrawal from exam
- Monday, February 12, 2024
Academic responsibility and teachers
- Academic responsibility
- Jógvan Dalbø Hansen
- Teachers
- Jógvan Dalbø Hansen, Sonja Jacoba Jógvansdóttir