Political Parties and Elections

1.       Electoral System – single-member, simple-plurality – consequences?  Rules of the game

2.       Theories of Voter Choice – Ecological studies (1920s, 1930s); Bureau of Social Research (Columbia U., 1950s); Institute of Social Research (U. of Michigan, 1960s) – impact on Canadian voter studies

3.       Survey Research and Voting Behaviour (assumptions, conclusions)

4.       Party identification – myth or reality?

5.       Campaigning – past and present

Parties as Organizations

1.       Functions (elections; socialization and recruitment; fund-raising; interest aggregation and articulation)

2.       Party registration, finance legislation

a.      Registration

b.      Limits on source and size of donations

c.       Disclosure of donations

d.      Limits on expenditure

e.      Tax expenditure; public subsidy

3.       Federalism and party structure

4.       Parties in the Legislature

5.       Challenges to parties

Mass media

1.       Press gallery size

2.       Rotation of correspondents

3.       Unrepresentative?

4.       Professionalism

5.       Roles? – investigation? critical analysis? neutral channel of communication?

6.       Focus on conflict

7.       Reliance on government statements and question period

8.       Time and resource pressures hamper depth of coverage

9.       “Group-think” and criteria for “news”

10.   Business bias?

Media Election Coverage

1.       Focus on leaders, government party

2.       Coverage of NDP less because it’s third party or because it’s not pro-business?

3.       Limited coverage of issues

4.       Focus on “horse race”  Who’s winning?

5.       Cite York study, 1995 (C. Pignataro, F. Fletcher) re issue coverage and treatment of leaders

Interest Groups and Social Movements

1.       Definitions, differences

1. Interest groups focus on the state, changing policy; social movements focus on civil society, changing attitudes
2. Interest groups focus narrowly on interests of those they represent; social movements purport to be acting on behalf of society as a whole (or a large segment – class, religion or ethnic group – not all of whom may be conscious supporters)
3. Examples?  IG’s: Canadian Auto Workers; Canadian Manufacturers Association; Ontario Nurses Association; etc.  Social Movements: Women’s Movement; Trade Union Movement; Environmental Movement; etc.

2.       Techniques

a.      Argument, demonstration, publicity, information, services to members

b.      Aimed at government or society?

 3.       Resources

a.      Numbers

b.      Money

c.       Time

d.      Access

e.      Legitimacy, mandate

f.        Moral authority?

  4.       Effects of Social Movements on Politics

a.      Threat to traditional interest groups?

b.      Alter balance of power in political life?

 5.       Is the distinction between “movement” and “lobby” a matter of whom we support?  Are there social movements of the right as well as the left?

Are social movements simply the interest groups we agree with?  (e.g., the trade union movement versus the business lobby – or union bosses versus industry representatives)

Social criticism on the right sometimes argues that society has moved “leftward,” i.e., that earlier social movements have had some success.  The backlash has mainly represented itself in the form of interest groups (e.g., the National Citizen’s Coalition) or parties (e.g., Reform, and the Alliance).  However the idea of a “Common Sense Revolution” suggests a neo-conservative “movement” that seeks to restore to power the ideas of an earlier era.  Otherwise, since demand for change is often associated with the “left,” movements may be seen as a left phenomenon, regardless of their class orientation or their opinion on the scope of the state.