Pick a case study and imagine you are responsible for advising a
candidate in a Global South/developing country about how to win an
election. Devise a campaign strategy and summarise it in 1200 words.
What strategy will you employ (and why)? What policies will you
promote (and why)? Your conclusion should contain a discussion about
why you chose to employ this strategy, why you believe it could be
successful in the context of your choice, and what are the possible
implications of this strategy. You should use the literature to support
your reasoning for each suggestion made to the candidate.
Notes:
– You can choose a current/upcoming or historic election cycle in the country of
your choice. For example, let’s say you’re interested in studying the first
election after independence in Nigeria. Then you can choose to just write a
strategy document as if you were advising a candidate during that election.
– It can be a real candidate or a fake candidate.
– It can be an election for the executive branch or the legislative body
– It should still be a formal piece of writing, but you can write like you are
speaking to the candidate, “You may wish to target X areas.”
– You can use a mix of media and academic literature. You should give a bit of
background/overview of the dynamics in the election (this can be in your
introduction or elsewhere depending on how you decide to organise the
essay)
– You should think about strategy in terms of how the candidates might do this
in real life. For example, you may want to consider the demographics of the
country, and what social cleavages can candidates exploit to get elected (for
example, if voting patterns fall along ethnic lines, then playing to your ethnic
base would make the most sense)Pick a case study and imagine you are responsible for advising a
candidate in a Global South/developing country about how to win an
election. Devise a campaign strategy and summarise it in 1200 words.
What strategy will you employ (and why)? What policies will you
promote (and why)? Your conclusion should contain a discussion about
why you chose to employ this strategy, why you believe it could be
successful in the context of your choice, and what are the possible
implications of this strategy. You should use the literature to support
your reasoning for each suggestion made to the candidate.
Notes:
– You can choose a current/upcoming or historic election cycle in the country of
your choice. For example, let’s say you’re interested in studying the first
election after independence in Nigeria. Then you can choose to just write a
strategy document as if you were advising a candidate during that election.
– It can be a real candidate or a fake candidate.
– It can be an election for the executive branch or the legislative body
– It should still be a formal piece of writing, but you can write like you are
speaking to the candidate, “You may wish to target X areas.”
– You can use a mix of media and academic literature. You should give a bit of
background/overview of the dynamics in the election (this can be in your
introduction or elsewhere depending on how you decide to organise the
essay)
– You should think about strategy in terms of how the candidates might do this
in real life. For example, you may want to consider the demographics of the
country, and what social cleavages can candidates exploit to get elected (for
example, if voting patterns fall along ethnic lines, then playing to your ethnic
base would make the most sense)
Readings List:
Gunitsky, Seva (2018). “Democratic Waves in Historical Perspective.” Perspectives
on Politics 16(3): 634-651. 17pp
● The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World,
Larry Diamond, (New York: Times Books, 2008)- CHAPTER 2 & 3
● Carothers, Thomas, “The End of the Transition Paradigm,” Journal of Democracy,
Vol. 13, no. 1 (Jan. 2002): 5-21.
● Branch, D. and Cheeseman, N., 2009. Democratization, sequencing, and state
failure in Africa: Lessons from Kenya. African Affairs, 108(430), pp.1-26.Gunitsky, Seva (2018). “Democratic Waves in Historical Perspective.” Perspectives
on Politics 16(3): 634-651. 17pp
● The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World,
Larry Diamond, (New York: Times Books, 2008)- CHAPTER 2 & 3
● Carothers, Thomas, “The End of the Transition Paradigm,” Journal of Democracy,
Vol. 13, no. 1 (Jan. 2002): 5-21.
● Branch, D. and Cheeseman, N., 2009. Democratization, sequencing, and state
failure in Africa: Lessons from Kenya. African Affairs, 108(430), pp.1-26.
Diamond, Chapter 6, “What Sustains Democracy”
● Levitsky, Steve, and Lucan Way. Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes in the
Post-Cold War Era (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
● Optional: Diamond, Larry, “Toward Democratic Consolidation,” Journal of Democracy,
Vol. 5, no. 3 (1994): 4-17.
● Lizzeri, Alessandro and Nicola Persico. 2004. ‘Why the Elites Extend the Suffrage?
Democracy and the Scope of Government, with an Application to Britain’s “Age of
Reform”.’ Quarterly Journal of Economics. 119(2): 707-765Diamond, Chapter 6, “What Sustains Democracy”
● Levitsky, Steve, and Lucan Way. Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes in the
Post-Cold War Era (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
● Optional: Diamond, Larry, “Toward Democratic Consolidation,” Journal of Democracy,
Vol. 5, no. 3 (1994): 4-17.
● Lizzeri, Alessandro and Nicola Persico. 2004. ‘Why the Elites Extend the Suffrage?
Democracy and the Scope of Government, with an Application to Britain’s “Age of
Reform”.’ Quarterly Journal of Economics. 119(2): 707-765
● Lührmann, Anna & Staffan Lindberg (2019). “A Third Wave of Autocratization Is
Here: What Is New about It? Democratization 26(7): 1095-1113. 18pp
● Norris, P., 2017. Is Western democracy backsliding? Diagnosing the risks.
Forthcoming, The Journal of Democracy, April.
● Mechkova, V., Lührmann, A. and Lindberg, S.I., 2017. How much democratic
backsliding?. Journal of Democracy, 28(4), pp.162-169.
● Bermeo, N., 2016. On democratic backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), pp.5-19.● Lührmann, Anna & Staffan Lindberg (2019). “A Third Wave of Autocratization Is
Here: What Is New about It? Democratization 26(7): 1095-1113. 18pp
● Norris, P., 2017. Is Western democracy backsliding? Diagnosing the risks.
Forthcoming, The Journal of Democracy, April.
● Mechkova, V., Lührmann, A. and Lindberg, S.I., 2017. How much democratic
backsliding?. Journal of Democracy, 28(4), pp.162-169.
● Bermeo, N., 2016. On democratic backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), pp.5-19.
