The Rise and Decline of New Political Parties
| Module title | The Rise and Decline of New Political Parties |
|---|---|
| Module code | POL3237 |
| Academic year | 2020/1 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Nicole Bolleyer (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 25 |
|---|
Module description
The rise of new political parties has been an important development in many advanced democracies leading to the entry into parliaments and (partially) governments of a diversity of new parties, including greens, populist right, regionalist and pirate parties. This module introduces you to the systematic analysis of this phenomenon by familiarizing you with the range of new ‘party families’ and by assessing drivers of their rise and their decline. On that basis, we will also assess the responses of mainstream parties to these newcomers and how the latter affected mainstream parties and the extent to which new parties were able to shape public policy.
This module has no formal pre-requisistes though the prior attendance of introductory modules in the area of comparative politics (broadly defined) would be a helpful foundation.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module has three main goals: first, it introduces you to the variety of ‘new party families’ that entered party systems in long-lived democracies ranging from Green parties and Pirate parties over regionalist parties to populist parties both on the right and the left. Second, we will systematically assess the reasons why some of these new families have been much more successful in carving out a niche in established party systems than others. Third, we will assess different responses of mainstream parties to these newcomers as well as the changes that the latter introduced in democracies, indirectly (through shaping mainstream parties’ ideological positions and organizational practices) and directly (through changing public policy when entering government).
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Understand the variety of new parties active nowadays in long-lived democracies
- 2. Recognize the drivers of new party success and failure in different country settings and evaluate critically their diverse effects on mainstream parties and public policy
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Think critically, analyse debates and present coherent arguments on developments in politics
- 4. Critically apply theories in comparative politics to real-life developments in different country settings
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Effectively communicate (orally and/or in writing) complex topics in a coherent and well structured manner;
- 6. Reflect critically on learning outcomes
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Core definitions (e.g. what is a new party?) and why the study of new parties is important and how researchers have tended to analyze them to date.
- The variety of ‘new party families’ such as green parties, pirate parties, regionalist or populist parties and why some of these new families have been much more successful than others.
- The different responses of mainstream parties to these newcomers (ranging from refusal of any contact to forming coalition governments with them) as well as the change that the latter introduced in long-lived democracies(e.g. their impact on public opinion, the programmes of mainstream parties or public policy).
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and teaching activity | 22 | Weekly 2 hour seminars over 11 weeks |
| Guided Independent study | 78 | Reading and seminar preparation |
| Guided Independent study | 50 | Course work preparation and writing |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay outline | 500 words | 1-6 | Written and oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0 | 20 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class presentation (in groups) | 20 | 30 minutes | 1-6 | Peer-feedback moderated by convenor and written feedback by convenor |
| Critique of article or book | 30 | 800 words | 1-3, 5 | Written |
| Essay | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-6 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class presentation (in groups) | Detailed presentation outline (up to 3 pages) and viva (20 minutes) | 1-6 | In Summer term |
| Critique of article or book | Critique of article or book (800 words) | 1-3, 5 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay | Essay (2,000 words) | 1-6 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Art, D. 2011. Inside the Radical Right: The Development of Anti-Immigrant Parties in Western Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Beyens, S. P. Lucardie and K. Deschouwer. 2016. The Life and Death of New Political Parties in the Low Countries, West European Politics 39 (2): 257-277.
Bolleyer, N. 2013. New Parties in Old Party Systems: Patterns of Persistence and Decline, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bolleyer, N. Correa, P. and Katz, G. 2018. Political Party Mortality in Established Party Systems: A Hierarchical Competing Risks Approach. Comparative Political Studies, Online First March 21.
Kitschelt, H. 1989. The Logic of Party Formation, Ecological Politics in Belgium and West Germany, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
Lucardie, P. 2000. Prophets, Purifiers and Prolocutors, Towards a Theory on the Emergence of New Parties, Party Politics 6 (2), 175-85.
McDonnell, D. and J. L. Newell. 2011. Outsider Parties in Government in Western Europe, Party Politics 17 (4), 443-452.
Meguid, B. M. 2007. Party Competition between Unequals: Strategies and Electoral Fortunes in Western Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 14/01/2019 |
| Last revision date | 14/01/2019 |
