PS 541: Strategy and Politics
Christopher K. Butler, Assistant Professor


Contact Information:
Class Meetings: Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:15 in SSCI 2069
Instructor's Office: SSCI 2051
Office Phone: 277-3742
E-mail: ckbutler@unm.edu
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30 to 3:30 PM and by appointment.
Quick Links:
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Post a message to the class (email version)
JSTOR Article Links
Lecture and Reading Schedule
Assignment Booklet
Assignment Booklet
Syllabus plus Schedule

Overview:

The first purpose of this class is to familiarize the students with known examples of strategic interaction in politics: strategic voting, vote trading, agenda setting, collective action problems, setting platform positions, bargaining, international conflict and so on. The second purpose is to provide an understanding of how to analyze strategic interactions in politics, focusing on existing research.
The class specifically examines formal models in political science. A tolerance for math is expected; the ability to do basic algebra would be useful. Formal models to be examined include: utility maximization, game matrices, sequential games, games of incomplete information, and spatial models.

Assignments and Responsibilities:
Problems (30%)

Applied Game Theory Briefs (15%)

5% each

Major Assignment (55%)

Part A (5%)
Part B (25%)
Part C (25%)

An assignment booklet containing problems and directions and examples for the briefs and the major assignment parts will be provided by the instructor.

Required Books:

Gates, Scott and Brian D. Humes. 1996. Games, Information, and Politics : Applying Game Theoretic Models to Political Science. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Laver, Michael. 1997. Private Desires, Political Action : An Invitation to the Politics of Rational Choice. London: Sage Publications.

Morrow, James D. 1994. Game Theory for Political Scientists. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism, A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

Schelling, Thomas C. 1978. Micromotives and Macrobehavior. New York: W. W. Norton Press.

Schelling, Thomas C. 1980. The Strategy of Conflict. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


Required Articles or Chapter Selections:

Anderson, David R., Dennis J. Sweeny, and Thomas A. Williams. 1994. An Introduction to Management Science, Quantitative Approaches to Decision Making, 7th ed. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Publishing Company. pp. 593-601.

Axelrod, Robert. 1979. "The Rational Timing of Surprise." World Politics, Vol. 31, No. 2. (Jan., 1979), pp. 228-246. (JSTOR article link)

Black, Duncan 1948. "On the Rationale of Group Decision-making." The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 56, No. 1. (Feb., 1948), pp. 23-34. (JSTOR article link)

Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce and David Lalman. 1992. War and Reason: Domestic and International Imperatives. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapters 1 - 3.

Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper Collins. Chapter 8.

Grofman, Bernard. 1985. "The Neglected Role of the Status Quo in Models of Issue Voting." The Journal of Politics, Vol. 47, No. 1. (Feb., 1985), pp. 230-237. (JSTOR article link)

Hotelling, Harold. 1929. "Stability in Competition." The Economic Journal, Vol. 39, No. 153. (Mar., 1929), pp. 41-57. (JSTOR article link)

Milner, Helen V. with B. Peter Rosendorff. 1997. "A Model of the Two-Level Game." Chapter 3 of Interests, Institutions, and Information: Domestic Politics and International Relations by Helen V. Milner. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Nash, John F., Jr. 1950. "The Bargaining Problem." Econometrica, Vol. 18, No. 2. (Apr., 1950), pp. 155-162. (JSTOR article link)

Rubinstein, Ariel. 1982. "Perfect Equilibrium in a Bargaining Model." Econometrica, Vol. 50, No. 1. (Jan., 1982), pp. 97-110. (JSTOR article link)


Recommended Books:

Axelrod, Robert. 1984. The Evolution of Cooperation. New York: Basic Books.

Dixit, Avinash K., and Barry J. Nalebuff. 1991. Thinking Strategically, The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life. New York: W. W. Norton.

Riker, William H. 1986. The Art of Political Manipulation. New Haven: Yale University Press.


Americans with Disabilities Act:

Qualified students with disabilities needing appropriate academic adjustments should contact me as soon as possible to ensure your needs are met in a timely manner. Handouts are available in alternative accessible formats upon request.