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Course Module 4: Political Processes and Policymaking
(August
12-21; includes Study Tour of Washington, DC)
A focus on
shared beliefs and communication is an appropriate transition to the last
module. Politics in a democracy is about building majority coalitions
based on shared preferences—preferences that are created and altered
by beliefs, economic interests, culture, and the information transmitted
by the media. In this concluding module of the Institute, you will learn
how the American political system synthesizes the preferences of political
actors from voters to the President and transforms them into public policy.
The module
begins with a course session on American electoral institutions, discussing
political parties and the evolution of nomination and general election
procedures, looking back to the 1800s and ahead to 2004. Special attention
will be paid to the fascinating 2000 election, a case study that provides
a useful discussion of the ways in which the Constitution protects minority
rights, here, through the mechanism of the electoral college. But that
those rights can also be violated by determined local majorities is highlighted
by including a discussion of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and
1960s, culminating with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
A full day
is then devoted to examining the structure of American governing institutions,
focusing on the interaction between the executive and legislative branches
in a system (in Richard Neustadt's famous phrase) of “separate institutions
sharing power.” The Constitution seeks to give the government enough
power to maintain order while structurally weakening its ability to tyrannize
the populace. The different branches, elected by different constituencies
for different terms with different duties, check each other's plans; in
an even more famous phrase, this time James Madison’s, “ambition
must be made to counteract ambition” in the operation of the branches
of government. How does that work in practice? You will examine the formal
powers of each branch and the historical developments that have created
an informal overlay of precedent and expectation on the text of the Constitution.
You will study presidential power and the legislative process—how
a bill becomes a law, to be sure, but with an understanding that most
bills do not become law. Helping you to understand this more fully will
be a visit to the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. There, the
Institute will explore the dynamics and rationale of legislative-executive
relations.
The module
then turns to the outcomes of elections and institutions: public policy.
On the domestic side, you will study American social policy and discuss
the role of group politics in setting the political agenda and shifting
the policy status quo. For example, you will consider the successes and
shortcomings of the contemporary feminist movement, and discuss the role
of affirmative action in American politics in the context of the Constitutional
principles, racial diversity and historical trends already highlighted
in previous modules.
Foreign policy
is a particularly important topic in the context of the Institute. Course
sessions will focus on both the process and substance of American foreign
policy decision-making -- the how, what, and why -- cued mainly to the
20th and 21st centuries. Dickinson's Douglas Stuart, a specialist in national
security policy and the editor of the recent Institute for Strategic Studies
volume Organizing for National Security, will lead you through the decision-making
process, then lead a panel discussion of local scholars on key debates
in recent foreign policy.
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