Instructor: Chris
Foreman,
Office Location: 4133
Van Munching Hall
Office Telephone:
(301) 405-0442
Office E-Mail:
>cforeman@umd.edu< and >zezfor@aol.com<
Office Hours: by
appointment
This course addresses the primary institutions of national governance and the major value tensions operating among them. We are concerned with the ways institutions operate independently and interactively to forge public policy. Although the American national government has traditionally been the centerpiece of PUAF 620, this section will pay substantial attention to other national governments and the policy challenges they face. Supplementary short readings to be distributed by the instructor will especially address these non-U.S. contexts.
Four federal institutions are the main focus of reading and class discussion: Congress, the presidency, courts, and bureaucracies. Other important forces (i.e. public opinion, parties and elections, the media, interest groups) are of concern in this course mainly due to their influences on the four institutions. We want to use theoretical and other perspectives, data, and abundant case examples to gain practical insight into the behavior of, and challenges facing, authoritative institutional actors.
Eight books are required for this course. In addition, there will be handouts in class and e-mail attachments consisting of timely articles from newspapers and magazines. The reading load is demanding but accessible and often entertaining. You will be expected to keep up with the reading and, ideally, to complete each week’s reading before the class to which it pertains. This is important to assure fruitful discussion. You are advised that the written examination will concentrate on this material, including any items handed out during the semester!
Final Grade Calculation: Policy Memoranda (50%); Exam (30%); Participation (20%)
Along with class participation and the final examination on the reading, students will be graded on a series of four policy memoranda written for the course, to be submitted at fixed intervals during the semester. Each memorandum should be a 4-to-6 page double-spaced exposition written for a professional colleague or superior who needs the information or analysis. (Note here a departure from recent past practice. In some prior semesters required memos were to be submitted in single-spaced format. Memos in the “real world” are single-spaced but double-spacing facilitates the detailed editing and comment that are an essential part of course instruction.) Each memorandum should succinctly address the assigned topic and be written with clarity and care. (Each student should have a copy of my “memo on memos.” I will send a copy via e-mail to anyone who needs it.)
All of any student’s memoranda should deal with the same policy issue (e.g. immigration reform or proposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) but each memo should be self-contained, permitting a reader to digest it separately from all other sources. The issue should be currently active and prominently involve the federal government (although other levels of government will often be relevant). Please submit each in the assigned sequence and on the scheduled date indicated below.
It is advisable to select an issue that already interests you and about which you already have some knowledge. You must obviously research the issue carefully but your memoranda should not use footnotes or a formal bibliography. Where appropriate cite sources in parentheses or list them in an appendix. Use the Internet but do not lift whole chunks of the memorandum from web sites. The writing and analysis must be your own.
You must submit five items (a brief opening proposal and four memos) during the semester. Please submit each in the assigned sequence, and on the scheduled dates indicated below. Submissions should be made in both of two ways. One way is via the green folders handed out on the first day of class. Retain all your memos, as you accumulate them, in this folder, hole-punched and with the most recent submission on top. The second mode of submission is via e-mail as a Word attachment. This dual submission method affords the instructor enhanced flexibility in reacting to student submissions and helps guard against both plagiarism and misplaced memos. (Please do NOT keep course handouts in your folder.)
The five items include the following:
(1) Statement of Issue Selection – Submit a brief typed statement (one-page maximum) indicating the issue you will examine in the series of memoranda. The instructor must be able to judge from your statement whether the issue you have chosen conforms to the requirements specified for the course. Due September 21.
(2) Memorandum #1: Issue Description and Background – The first memorandum will describe the issue and options facing policymakers. It explains why the issue is important and where matters stand at present. The memorandum should provide relevant background information, including past developments that bear on the current status of the issue. It should preview actions or decisions that might be taken in the months ahead. Provide data that explain why the issue has become “hot.” Due October 5.
(3) Memorandum #2: Political Analysis – Discuss the main interest groups active in the issue. Who are they? What do they want? What are they doing to get it? What particular opportunities or constraints do these groups face? The more you can tell about (and compare) the strategies/tactics of the groups and the larger political environments they face, the stronger will be your memorandum. You may wish to examine web sites maintained by the groups, assessing the quality and effectiveness of their presentations and arguments. (If you do this, append relevant printouts to your memo.) Where does public opinion stand on the issue? Due October 26.
(4) Memorandum #3: Institutional Analysis - Discuss the role and actions of one or more institutions on the issue. Institutions may be executive agencies, Congress, or the courts but NOT interest groups or political parties. It may be useful to think of the memo as an answer to the following question: what difference does it make to the issue that this institution is involved? You may compare two or more institutions involved in the issue. Due November 16.
(5) Memorandum #4: Policy Outcomes and Recommendations – Describe and analyze what has happened to the issue during the semester. If little or no action has occurred, explain why this was so. Explain the outcome. Why did the winners win and the losers lose? The memo should present and defend a course of action for the issue. In your judgement, what should be the preferred outcome or option? Why? What would have to happen to make your preference a reality? Support your position with argument, analysis and evidence. Due December 7.
If you wish to revise a graded memo in the hope if receiving
a higher grade, be advised that: (1) each student will be limited to one
revision throughout the semester; and (2) revised memos can earn at most a
two-notch increase in grade (e.g. from a B- to a B+).
Thomas A. Birkland, An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts, and Models of Policymaking (either first or second edition is acceptable)
James Q. Wilson, Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It
R. Douglas Arnold, The Logic of Congressional Action
John W.
Jonathan Rauch, Government’s End: Why Washington Stopped Working
Martha Derthick, Agency Under Stress: The Social Security Administration in American Government
John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira, The Emerging Democratic Majority
Bert A. Rockman and Colin Campbell, eds. The George W. Bush Presidency: Appraisals and Prospects
SCHEDULE
OF
Professor Foreman must attend the annual meeting of the
American Political Science Association in
Judis and Teixeira, entire
Campbell and Rockman, chapter 2 (George Edwards on “Riding High in the Polls”)
Week 4 (September 21) Influences on Policy: Interest Groups
Rauch, chapters 1-6
Campbell and Rockman, chapter 9 (Mark A. Peterson on “Bush and Interest Groups”)
Derthick, chapters 1-3 and 6
Campbell and Rockman, chapter 7 (Mucciaroni and Quirk on presidential deliberation)
Arnold, chapters 1-6
Campbell and Rockman, chapter 5 (Barbara Sinclair on “Context, Strategy and Chance”)
Arnold, chapters 7-9 **(you may choose any one of these chapters to read)**
Derthick, chapters 4 and 8
Wilson, chapter 15
Derthick, chapter 7
Campbell and Rockman, chapter 6 (David O’Brien on “Ironies and Disappointments”)
Wilson, chapters 1-9
Derthick, chapters 5, 9-10
Wilson, chapters 17-20
Arnold, chapter 10
Derthick, chapter 11
Birkland, chapter 8
Rauch, chapters 7-10
Each student offers a five-minute presentation of his/her memo topic.
Week 16: (December
14): Individual Student-Teacher
Consultations