Comparative Political Behavior

Seminar examines mass political behavior from a comparative perspective and attempts to explain how people become involved in politics, how they form political opinions, and how their behavior influences political outcomes. Seminar covers a range of behaviors, including learning about politics, information processing, political participation, and voter decision-making. For each of these behaviors, two questions are posed: What are the causes and consequences of the behavior? To what extent and how do these causes and consequences depend on institutional or cultural/ historical settings?