Unit information: Democracy and US Government in 2013/14

Unit name	Democracy and US Government
Unit code	POLI21226
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Van Veeren
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit examines in some detail the institutions, politics and policy controversies that mark the American polity. The course revolves around the twin concepts of liberty and equality, probing the uneasy and often paradoxical application of these democratic principles. We pay particular attention to the linkages between the American people and elites and how these relationships coincide with the democratic claims of the system. Over the next weeks, we shall be evaluating the liberal/illiberal and egalitarian/inegalitarian strains that run throughout the US polity and challenging prevalent stereotypes that obscure our understanding of this highly complex political system. While each lecture and seminar will be devoted to a specific topic and illustrative policy area, such as the Constitution and the death penalty, interest groups and gun control, and the courts and abortion, students are expected to apply their accumulative knowledge to discuss considerably broader questions relating to the nature of US democracy.

Aims:

• To present an analysis of US government and politics and probe common assumptions and stereotypes about the American system.
• To introduce the core issues confronting the US political system at the beginning of the 21st century.
• To critically evaluate the performance of American government against its claims to be one of the world's principal democracies.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes of this unit are to develop:

1. an understanding of the political and institutional workings of the US political system and an appreciation of the complexity of these structures and processes.
2. an appreciation of theories of democracy and the ability to relate these theories and debates to the structural, political and institutional context of American politics
3. an understanding of the capacity for political and policy leadership in relations to structural and contextual constraints.

Teaching Information

2 hours of lectures and 1 hour seminar

Assessment Information

2000 word summative essay (40%) assessing learning outcomes 1 &2 2 hour unseen exam (60%) assessing learning outcomes 1-3

The essay questions will focus on the application democratic ideas to the institutional structures and frameworks that shape contemporary US Government. Each question will require the student to understand and apply theories of democracy (eg elite, pluralist) to the US approach to federalism and constitutionalism. Students will be asked to think about how democratic ideals and the constitution helps us understand the US approach to divisive issues such as gun control, states’ rights and abortion.

The exam questions will then allow for more analysis of the workings of US government, with specific focus on the key institutions, eg Congress, the Supreme Court and the Presidency. The exam will also assess topics such as voting behaviour and policy formation, with particular reference to the impact of interest groups and the role of the media. In the exam students will be expected to demonstrate a broader awareness of key trends in US electoral politics through theoretical, empirical and institutional analysis.

Reading and References

• Peele, G., Bailey, CJ., Cain, B., and Peters, B.G (eds) (2010) Developments In American Politics 6 (Basingstoke: Palgrave) • McKay, David, Houghton, David and Wroe, Andrew (2002) Controversies in American Politics and Society, Oxford: Blackwell. [Companion text to McKay 2008] • Singh, Robert (2003a) Contemporary American Politics and Society: Issues and Controversies, London: Sage. • Miroff, Bruce, Seidelman, Raymond, Swanstrom, Todd, and DeLuca, Tom (2010) The Democratic Debate: American Politics in an Age of Change, Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage (5th edition). • Singh, Robert (Ed.) (2003b) Governing America: The Politics of a Divided Democracy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.