Political Science 210: Political Behavior

Professor Paul Gronke	Ph: 518-7393
Eliot Hall 424	Email: gronke at reed.edu
Course web page: http://www.reed.edu/~gronkep/pol210-f05	Office Hours: Tues 1-3 and by appointment

An online version of this syllabus is available at http://www.reed.edu/~gronkep/pol210-f05. Please check this page regularly for any updates and course announcements. Copies of all course materials, including assignments, will be distributed via this web site.

Description

Political Science 210, "Political Behavior," is one of four gateway courses into the study of political science at Reed College. The course is targeted at first and second year students, although more advanced students are welcome. Pol210 exposes you to the major approaches used by political scientists to understand individual political action, what is often called "political behavior." This stands in contrast to approaches that focus on comparing political systems, or modeling the dynamics of international relations, or analyzing philosophical and normative arguments.

In this course, we focus on the dominant analytical approach in behavioral political science--rational or social choice --and its implications for how we understand politics. Rational choice, imported from economics, remains controversial in many quarters, but it is an approach that you will encounter frequently in social science readings and research. If rational choice is an important approach in behavioral social science, then survey statistics are one of its primary analytical tools. We spend a significant amount of time learning how to retrieve and analyze survey data, and understand its associated statistics.  Fair warning: if you have previously taken Econ 311, Math 141, or especially Soc 311, you may find this part the course very repetitive and you may wish to consider an alternative course.

Our goal as a class is to get each other to a point where, by the end of the semester, we all have sufficient familiarity with social choice theory so that we can use it to critically analyze some basic puzzles in political science such as: Why don't more people vote? Are riots an example of a collective choice process?  Why do people choose the candidates that they do? Why are political campaigns often bland and vague? Why are successful public policies those that seem to satisfy no one? The exposure to statistics is intended to allow you to easily access quantitative data which will let you test those theories that you derive from your theoretical approaches, be they rational choice, psychological, or something else; and also allow you to more easily comprehend quantitative material in your other courses.

This is not primarily a conference course.  The materials often do not lend themselves to conference based discussion. I have made specific provisions in the syllabus for sessions devoted to discussion. The class is small enough that participation should be possible even at other times, but there will be many sections of the course where I will be lecturing.

Guide to Assignments

• Books: The following books have been ordered from the Reed College Bookstore. Five copies of each are available at the library reserve. If you wish to save money, you need not purchase the Johnson book.  This book is useful for those students planning to major in political science, ICPS, or Sociology.
1. Rosenstone, Steven J. and John Mark Hansen. 1993. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. Macmillan.
2. Shepsle, Kenneth A. and Mark S. Bonchek. 1997. Analyzing Politics: Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions. New York: W.W. Norton.
   
   
• Additional Readings: Additional reserve books, book chapters, and articles are at printed reserve and at electronic reserve. Those articles which are available through the JSTOR electronic journal archive must be accessed via that method. You will need to learn this system. See http://www.jstor.org for more information. At present, this is available from on-campus connections only.

Grading Policy

You will be evaluated on the basis of one short essay and two longer essays, a final exam, three problem sets, and class participation. Because all deadlines are announced well ahead of time, I will not accept late assignments. It is also very important that you turn in the problem sets, since they account for 1/3 of your grade. Grades are calculated as follows:

• Essays (2): 33%
• Final exam: 33%
• Short assignments and problem sets: 33%
• Class participation: 1% plus or minus wiggle room

Schedule of Class Meetings

1. August 29: Introductions
2. August 31- September 2: No Class.  Brief writing assignment due Wednesday September 7
• There will be a makeup class next week and extra computer workshops in November to make up these days.  Please sign up for one of the sections.
• For the second day, please see the readings and first paper assignment below and handed out in class
  
  
3. Brief Paper Assignment: Was it rational to vote for Ralph Nader (in 2000)?
• Hentoff, Nat. October 4-10, 2000. "Ralph Nader -- Not a Wasted Vote." The Village Voice. Online copy available at http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0040/hentoff.php
• Maxwell, Bill. October 22, 2000. "Serious blacks know that a vote for Nader is a waste." St Petersburg Times. Online copy available here: http://www.sptimes.com/News/102200/Perspective/Serious_blacks_know_a.shtml
• Tomorrow, Tom. This Modern World. September 5, 2000. Cartoon is visible here: http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2000/09/05/tomo.
• Majoo, Farhad. Oct. 31, 2000. "Vote Trade: The American Way?" Wired Magazine. Available here: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39860,00.html
4. September 5:  Labor Day- No Class
   
   
5. September 7: Introduction to Rational Choice
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Chs. 1-2
6. September 7 and 8: First Make Up Class, 4:15-5 or 5:15-6. 
• Introduction to the SDA Analysis System
• Attendance is mandatory at one session
• Distribution of first problem set
  
  
7. September 9: The Rational Actor Model: A More Technical Introduction
• Dixit and Skeath, Games of Strategy, Chs. 1-2.  (Reserve—either the 1999 or 2004 copy will work)
• Brief paper due in class
  
  
8. September 12: A Philosopher’s take on rational choice and its limits:
• Jon Elster, Nuts and Bolts of the Social Sciences, Chs. 1-4 and 7 (Reserve)
  
  
9. September 14: Social Choice Theory and Arrow's Paradox
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Chs. 3-4
  
  
10. September 16: Spatial Models of Voting, with applications to vote choice
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Ch. 5, p. 82-91; p. 103-115
• Paul R. Abramson, John H. Aldrich, Phil Paolino, David W. Rohde. "Third-Party and Independent Candidates in American Politics: Wallace, Anderson, and Perot" Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 110, No. 3. (Autumn, 1995), pp. 349-367. Can be found on www.jstor.org
• First problem set due in class
11. September 19: Conference Day: Was it rational to vote for Ralph Nader?
• Discuss rational choice and voting
• Play the M&M Game
• Skim: Dixit and Skeath, Games of Strategy, Ch. 15 “Strategy and Voting” (this may be Chapter 14 in the older edition).  This is a good chapter to keep on hand for review.
12. September 21: Spatial Models of Voting, with applications to legislative organization and budgeting
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Ch. 5, p. 115-136
13. September 23: Spatial Modeling: Applications
• Read closely and be prepared to discuss one of:
1. Jeffrey Jenkins. "Examining the Bonding Effects of Party: A Comparative Analysis of Roll-Call Voting in the U.S. and Confederate Houses". American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 43, No. 4. (Oct., 1999), pp. 1144-1165. Available at www.jstor.org
2. Jeffery A. Jenkins, Brian R. Sala. "The Spatial Theory of Voting and the Presidential Election of 1824." American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 42, No. 4. (Oct., 1998), pp. 1157-1179. Available at www.jstor.org
3. Benjamin I. Page, Richard A. Brody. "Policy Voting and the Electoral Process: The Vietnam War Issue" The American Political Science Review, Vol. 66, No. 3. (Sep., 1972), pp. 979-995. Available at www.jstor.org.
• Distribution of second problem Set
  
  
14. September 26: Game Theory: The Prisoner's Dilemma
• Shepsle and Bonchek, 197-206
• Dixit and Skeath, Games of Strategy, 79-89 (Printed Reserve—1999) or pg. 83-98 (second edition, 2004, This is preferable)
  
  
15. September 28: More examples of strategic action
• Dixit and Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically. Chs. 1, 2 (E-reserve)
  
  
16. September 30: Conference Day: The Logic of Political (non)Participation
• Hinich, Melvin and Michael Munger. "The Voting Decision and Collective Action." Chapter 7 in Analytical Politics.
• Barry, Brian. Sociologists, Economists, and Democracy. Ch. 2
• Second problem set eue in Class
• First paper assignment distributed in class
  
  
17. October 3: Solving the Dilemma? When Cooperation Emerges in Competitive Settings
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Ch. 8, p. 207-219
• Axelrod, Robert. The Evolution of Cooperation. Chs. 1-2, 4 (E-reserve)
• Dixit and Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically, Ch. 4
18. October 5: Research Applications of PD: Political Order in Nuclear Brinksmanship and in Hobbes’s Leviathan
• S. Plous. "The Nuclear Arms Race: Prisoner's Dilemma or Perceptual Dilemma?"
  Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 30, No. 2. (May, 1993), pp. 163-179. Available at www.jstor.org
• Russell Hardin. "Hobbesian Political Order" Political Theory, Vol. 19, No. 2. (May, 1991), pp. 156-180. Available at www.jstor.org
19. October 7: Conference Day: Mancus Olson's "Logic of Collective Action" (or inaction?)
• Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, Ch. 1 (p. 6-52): Reserve
  
  
20. October 10: Olson’s Logic Redux, with application to political participation
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Ch. 9
  
  
21. October 12: Public Goods and Externalities
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Ch. 10
22. October 14: Conference Day: The Tragedy of the Commons
• Hardin, Garrett. "The Tragedy of the Commons," Science, 162(1968):1243-1248. Available all over the web. Try this link: http://www.dieoff.org/page95.htm
• First Paper Assignment Due
23. October 17-21: Fall Break
    
    
24. October 24-26: Who Participates in the US?  The Empirical Evidence
• Rosenstone and Hansen, Chs. 1-3
25. October 28: Conference Day: A Solution to the Logic of Non-Participation?  The Special Case of Voting
• Aldrich, John. 1993. "Rational Choice and Turnout." American Journal of Political Science. 37(1): 246-278. Available on JSTOR
• Third problem set distributed in class
  
  
26. October 31: New Institutionalism: Political Science's Solution to Social Choice Problems
• Shepsle and Bonchek, Ch. 11-12, 14
  
  
27. November 2: An Introduction to Social Science Research Methods
• Johnson, Joslyn, and Reynolds. Political Science Research Methods. Ch. 1-3
28. November 4: A Basic Introduction to Social Science Statistics
• Johnson, Joslyn, and Reynolds, Ch. 11
• Third problem set due in class
  
  
29. November 7-9: Introduction to Bivariate and Regression Analysis
• Johnson, Joslyn, and Reynolds, Ch. 12
  
  
30. November 11: Conference Day: Sampling, estimation, and standard errors
• Fourth Problem set distributed in class
  
  
31. November 14: Who Participates Take 2: Individual Vs. Institutional Effects
• Rosenstone and Hansen, Chs. 4-6
32. November 16: Class Computer Session: Analyzing Voting Turnout
• No readings; active participation in computer sessions will be critical to your second paper
33. November 18: Class Computer Session: Presenting Your Results I
• Fourth problem set due in class
  
  
34. November 16-17: Evening Computer Sessions
• Time and Place to be announced
  
  
35. November 21: Presenting Your Results II
• Johnson, Joslyn, and Reynolds, Ch. 14
  
  
36. November 23: Second Paper Due by noon today
    
    
37. November 25: Thanksgiving Holiday
    
    
38. November 28: Increasing Political Participation, a job for Institutions or for Individuals?
• Rosenstone and Hansen, Chs. 7-8
39. November 30: Continuing Divisions Within the Discipline
• Almond, Gabriel. A Discipline Divided. Ch 1: "Separate Tables, Schools, and Sects in Political Science."
• J Tobin Grant.  :”What Divides Us?  The Image and Organization of Political Science.”  PS: Political Science and Politics Vol 38, No 3 (July 2005).  Available online at http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/379-386.pdf.
  
  
40. December 2: Conference Day.  Political Science and 9/11
• Larry Diamond, "What Political Science Owes the World." Available at http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/PSOnlineDiamond911.pdf
41. December 5: What is Political Science? Reflections from Two Practitioners
• Kramer, Gerald. "Political Science as Science."
• MacRae, Duncan. "The Science of Politics and its Limits."
  (Chs 2-3 of Political Science: The Science of Politics 1986, Agathon. RC.  On electronic reserve)
  
  
42. December 7: Closing Thoughts
• Root, Michael. "The Liberal Ideal." Chapter 1 in Philosophy of the Social Sciences (electronic reserves)