Voters, Political Parties, and Public Opinion Polls

In this seminar, students will read and discuss theories of voting behavior and party competition and link this knowledge to understand the impact and relevance of public opinion polls (e.g., of the Sonntagsfrage).

In the first bloc of the seminar, students will discuss questions such as why do citizens vote the way they do? What affects their political preferences and how do they respond to processes of social transformation (e.g., modernization, globalization) and critical events (e.g., terror attacks, natural disasters)? How do political parties compete for votes and offices?

Based on these readings, students will acquire a sound knowledge of citizens' preferences, the programmatic offerings of political parties, and their interplay. Students will also get to know datasets most commonly used to analyze public opinion and parties' policy positions.

In the remaining sessions of the seminar, students will apply this knowledge to the field of public opinion polls. Here, they will develop empirical research projects, such as: What drives changes in public opinion polls in the short-, medium-, and long-term? Do public opinion polls affect voters' attitudes? If yes - how? Can public opinion polls create momentum effects in political competition?

For this seminar, it is advisable to have background knowledge in quantitative methods and comparative politics.