An Alternative Typology of Democratic Systems (posted on 05.07.2021)
No question this time: A student has very helpfully flagged up that the presidential / parliamentary / semi-presidential typology of democracies that we use is not the only typology available. [Originally shared with students on 06.02.2020.]
What is Arrow’s Theorem? (posted on 21.06.2021)
Question: I have been asked what Arrow’s theorem is by a few students. You probably won’t need to know the answer to this question in detail for many introductory courses on political science, but it may be useful to know in the longer term. [Originally answered on 25.11.2019.]
China, Hong Kong, and Theories of Democracy and Dictatorship (posted on 15.06.2021)
First question: Is democracy inevitable for China if it keeps on growing economically, as suggested in Why Nations Fail (possibly due to a series of revolutions that end in democratic stability)?
Second question: Does the degree to which culture vs economics predicts changes through Modernisation Theory vary across countries/regions/etc?
Third question: Does Selectorate Theory imply that the CCP is not shooting itself in the foot with economic development in the long run?
Fourth question: Are the HK protests linked to an economic progression of this kind in some way?
Fifth question: Could one way of revising be to connect Modernisation Theory to Selectorate Theory and institutionalisation (Week 3 paper) in the following way? Economic development makes democracy more likely but this can be largely mitigated by dictatorial leaders that optimally/overly institutionalise (or receive information about its selectorate in another way). In brief, for China, economic causes of democracy are undermined because its government/dictator is particularly skilled in holding power. [Originally answered on 13.11.2019.]
Gerrymandering and Democracy in 1960s Northern Ireland (posted on 24.05.2021)
Question: Can Northern Ireland in the 1960s be considered to have been a democracy given the prevalence of gerrymandering? [Originally answered on 24.10.2019.]
The ‘Alleged Stability’ of Majoritarian Systems (posted on 10.05.2021)
Question: I read in the Huber and Gallardo (2004) article that the “alleged stability of majoritarian systems masks the substantial turnover within the cabinet itself”. I was wondering what specifically was meant by “alleged stability”, please? I was under the impression that majoritarian systems, by not providing tools for dealing with the problems it created (no vote of no confidence), was less stable than consensus democracies or PR systems. [Originally answered on 17.04.2020.]
Median voter theory and the number of parties (posted on 07.05.2021)
Question: Why does median voter theory require that there be only two parties? Is it not always electorally efficient to align with the preferences of the median voter? [Originally answered on 28.04.2020.]
Government powers in parliamentary and presidential systems (posted on 29.04.2021)
First question: In presidential systems like the US, does the president (as part of the executive and not the legislature) make any laws? E.g. how did the Trump administration enact the ‘travel ban’ and the 2017 tax cuts?
Second question: In parliamentary systems like the UK, what powers do the Prime Minister and the Government have besides voting in parliament (as opposition MPs also do)?
Third question: Presidential systems are said to have more veto players than parliamentary systems. Is that only because the executive and the legislature are mutually independent, or are there other reasons (other veto players)? [Originally answered on 25.03.2020.]
Causes of Protest in Bolivia and Chile (posted on 21.04.2021)
Question: I was wondering if you could explain the recent political turmoil in several Southern American countries – where did come from and why, and how do you think this will play out for democracy? [Originally answered on 12.11.2019.]
Democracy and economic performance (posted on 14.03.2021)
Question: Student groups were asked to find recent literature shedding light on whether democracy affects economic performance, vice versa, both, or neither. [Originally answered on 12.03.2020.]
Selectorate theory and benevolent dictatorships (posted on 08.03.2021)
First question: Selectorate theory assumes that any leader’s goal is to stay in office and maximise rents. Are there clear cases in the world today of autocrats that do not fit that description? I.e. ‘benevolent dictators’ who deliver more public goods than are needed to satisfy their winning coalition? If so, why might that be?
Second question: How does selectorate theory fit with the fact that there exists applied research in e.g. development economics which recommends policies to alleviate poverty, effectively spend on public health, etc? When autocrats take such advice, are they just responding to pressure from their winning coalition which has grown? [Originally answered on 25.03.2020.]
‘Simultaneity,’ ‘attrition bias’ and ‘selection bias’ (posted on 15.02.2021)
Question: I was wondering if you would mind explaining the stats terms below [‘simultaneity,’ ‘attrition bias’ and ‘selection bias’] briefly (as the online sources I have found on this topic resort to rather convoluted language in their explanations) in the context of the Przeworski and Limongi (1993) paper (‘Political Regimes and Economic Growth’)? [Originally answered on 27.04.2020.]
The Effects of Polling on Public Opinion and Behaviour (posted on 06.02.2021)
Question: Has been any research on the impact of polling on public opinion and behaviour? [Originally answered on 22.11.2019.]
Women as representatives and leaders: the role of party family? (posted on 30.01.2021)
Question: If, historically at least, left-wing parties are likely to have a higher proportion of their elected representatives being women, why is it the case that O’Brien finds no influence of party family (other than Green (positive) and Communist (negative)) on the likelihood of parties selecting female leaders? In other words, if left-wing parties have more elected representatives who are women, why are they not more likely to select leaders who are women? [Originally answered on 25.03.2020.]
Joe Greenwood-Hau 