POSC102s-Political Behavior in Comparative Perspective Assignment 03(Winter/2022)Instructor: Diogo Ferrari Due to: March 9th, 2022 – 11:59pm PT
Department of Political Science, University of California, Riverside
This Assignment 03 has 2 question(s) for a total of 18.25 points.
This is an individual assignment. You must submit a pdf file on Canvas with your answers using
the following file name convention: <UCR IDs>.pdf. <UCR ID> must be replaced by your actualy
UCR ID, i.e., your institutional e-mail name without the @ucr.edu part. In the file, include a header
with your name, UCR ID, and problem set number as follows: <Your full name>, (<your UCR ID>),
<assignment>. Example: Diogo Ferrari, (diogoferrari), Assignment 1
Instructions
1. In this assignment, you will write an essay that addresses one of the questions below. Your essay
must include the following sections:
Theoretical Claims discuss the theoretical claims presented in the literature that discuss the
answer to the question you selected (list below). Make sure you include the citation of the
source that presented the argument. Use the same citation style the authors used in the
papers you selected (if they differ, pick one of your choice).
Empirical Evidence discuss the empirical evidence that was presented in the literature you se-
lected, addressing the theoretical claims you discussed.
You must use at least three papers in your essay, one of which must be from the required readings.
The other two can be from the recommended readings, required reading list, or it can be another
paper you found online. In the latter case, the paper must be published in an academic journal. If
in doubt if you can use a paper that you found online, e-mail the TA to check.
Questions (select one to discuss in your essay)
1. Was the election of Trump driven by racial resentment? Discuss how that hypothesis about the
Trump election is connected to the concept of populism, and if that allows us to understand
Trump election as an effect of populist features of his rhetoric.
• Hint: check readings from classes 9, 10, and 13
2. Some authors argue that popular support for populism in developed countries is caused by
cultural grievances. Discuss what that explanation is, why it helps us to understand populist
support in developed European nations, and if we can apply it to understand support in
developing countries.
• Hint: check readings from classes 11, 12, and 13
3. Discuss how economic downturn and immigration are related to support for populism in
Europe.
• Hint: check readings from classes 14, 15, and 16
4. What are populist attitudes. What is the connection between the economic downturn expla-
nation and the activation of populist attitudes? How do these arguments explain support for
populism? Do they apply equally to Latin America and European countries?
• Hint: check readings from classes 14 and 17
2. (7 points) (extra points) Use online data from one (or more) of the sources below to support
your answer. If you use data, make sure you cite the source in your essay. Note: all these websites
provide online tools to generate basic data analysis such as relative frequencies and associations
between variables.
• European Social Survey: link
• World Values Survey: link
• Populist attitudes: link
• Populism and Political Parties Expert Survey: link
Format:
Style Use clear language and polished grammar and style
References Give credit to any source you use (it can be readings of the course or internet articles
from well-known outlets, but not references such as ”Lecture slide said. . . ”)
Font Times New Roman, 12pt
Spcing double-space
Margins 0.8” on top, right, left, and bottom of the page
Length Minimum two pages and maximum three pages, including heading, excluding bibliography
and plots. Text exceeding the upper limit won’t be considered.
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