Comparative Political Behavior

In this course we will examine the role played by the masses in politics. We will explore public opinion, voting behavior, and other forms of political participation in a variety of contexts ranging from established democracies in Western Europe, to new democracies in the former USSR, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The primary goals of this course are to gain an understanding of the salient parts of the scholarly debate on political participation, and to analyze the factors that motivate citizens to participate in political life. This course counts as elective credit towards the Political Science major. (Comparative Politics)/