This course surveys the literature on political participation and electoral systems. After briefly recapping the universe of representation theories and electoral systems in the world, we will delve into the multiple strands of the literature on voting theories. We will then turn to political parties and political regimes, both of which are crucial to understand theories of political participation. We will finally focus on alternative notions and forms of political participation in today’s world, including polities and politics in the age of populism, the rise of social movements and civil society in the world, and old and new forms of citizenship.

All in all, the course is expected to equip students with both the classical and contemporary studies of political participation. We will dovetail theoretical readings with empirical pieces so as to better get the sense of the course material. There are many weeks in which we will focus on the Turkish case (most with a comparative angle) to increase the immersion of the students to the course material. At the end of the course, given that the students put sufficient effort to the course, the students are expected to have a much better understanding of political participation and electoral systems, both theoretically and empirically.