POL 4087 is also offered in Fall 2024
POL 4087 is also offered in Spring 2024
Fall 2024 | POL 4087 Section 001: Thinking Strategically About Politics (32375)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session09/03/2024 - 12/11/2024Mon, Wed 04:00PM - 05:15PMUMTC, West BankBlegen Hall 140
- Enrollment Status:
- Open (12 of 20 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- The purpose of this class is threefold. First is to introduce students to the use and value of formal models of strategic interaction (game theoretic models) in political science. Second is to impart some basic tools of such modeling to students. And third is to examine the contribution of theoretical models to several common game theoretic problems that appear across a variety of different political applications. In keeping with these three goals, the course is divided into three sections. The first session will be devoted to such questions as, what is a theoretical model? What are rational choice and game theory? The next portion of the class will introduce students to the basic tools employed in game theoretic analysis. The readings will illustrate the use of the tools introduced in class. Five problem sets will be administered, requiring students to make use of these tools. The final portion of the class will examine types of game theoretic problems that appear in a variety of political settings. These include retrospective voting and accountability, prospective voting and the role of the median voter, problems of coordination and the role of information, problems of collective action and the problem of free riding, and problems of credible commitment.
- Class Notes:
- http://classinfo.umn.edu/?POL4087+Fall2024
- Class Description:
- Politics is fundamentally concerned with strategic interactions. Actions are said to be strategic if one actor must anticipate how others would respond when formulating their best course of action. A leader issuing a diplomatic threat must consider whether the target of that threat will escalate or back down. A legislator formulating a bill must consider how to build a majority coalition to vote in its favor. A would-be demonstrator against a repressive regime must consider whether others would join in their protest. Game theory is a mathematical tool for representing and analyzing such interactions. This class will introduce students to the basic tools of game theory and will illustrate its application to political settings. Approximately half the class will be devoted to introducing game theoretic concepts -- called equilibrium solution concepts -- the methods through which such models can be solved. Each equilibrium concept will be paired with an illustration of that concept in politics, drawing on both domestic and international examples. The second half of the course will examine several key game theoretic concepts that appear in a variety of different political scenarios, as well as in every day life. These include models of (1) accountability, (2) voting, (3) problems of coordination, (4) problems of collective action, and (5) problems of credible commitment. We will see a variety of instances in which these phenomena appear, drawn from throughout the literature in political science, whether international relations, American politics, comparative politics, or political theory. (While this class will make use of math and satisfies a mathematical thinking liberal education requirement, there is no prerequisite math course. The most complex math you will need to solve any problems in this course is basic algebra -- solving a single equation with a single unknown variable.)
- Grading:
- Students will be assessed through a series of five problem sets over the first half of the semester. (The lowest scoring problem set will be dropped from one's final grade.) There will be a final exam relating to the readings from the second half of the semester administered online through Canvas. The questions will all be short-answer essay format. And students will complete a final group project, relating to one of the five different models (accountability, voting, coordination, collective action, or credible commitment), involving a 6-9 page paper and short in-class presentation.
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/32375/1249
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 1 November 2023
ClassInfo Links - Fall 2024 Political Science Classes
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