THE AMERICAN POLITICAL ARENA
Readings Available in the UMBC Book Center:
"Required"
Anthony Downs, AN ECONOMIC THEORY OF DEMOCRACY (Harper & Row, 1957)
Mancur Olson, THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION (Harvard, 1965)
"Recommended"
Albert O. Hirschman, EXIT, VOICE, AND LOYALTY (Harvard, 1970)
Steven J. Rosenstone and John Mark Hanson, MOBILIZATION, PARTICIPATION, AND DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA (Macmillan, 1993)
E.E. Schattschneider, THE SEMISOVEREIGN PEOPLE (Dryden, 1960)
Raymond Wolfinger and Steven Rosenstone, WHO VOTES? (Yale, 1980)
Note: Single copies of these books are on reserve in the UMBC
Library. In addition, multiple xerox copies of other required readings
will be placed on reserve in the Library and/or "in-house" in the Policy
Sciences Office. The particular arrangements will be discussed at the first
meeting of the class.
Course Objectives:
This course was originally designed as a graduate-level course for students in the Policy Sciences Graduate Program. This semester it has been cross-listed as an upper-level undergraduate course open to advanced Political Science majors and other undergraduates with appropriate preparation.
In the past, POLI 615 was one of three Political Sciences "foundations" courses for the Policy Sciences Graduate Program, but POSI 601 and POSI 602 now are the Political Sciences "foundations" courses for the MPS and Ph.D. programs respectively. However, POLI 615 (together with POLI 610) is now be required for all students in the Political Science (MPS and Ph.D.) track.
This course covers the "input" or "demand" side of the American political system and reviews both theoretical and empirical literature. Topics include: political information; public opinion; political participation, mobilization, and collective action; interest group formation and activity; voting, spatial models, and electoral competition; party formation, electoral systems, and political incentives; voting turnout; party identification; and electoral alignment, realignment, and dealignment.
The course has these principal objectives:
(1) To introduce students to basic principles of political analysis concerning interactions in the "political arena," including basic concepts, theoretical approaches, and empirical findings.
(2) To further familiarize students with important features of American government and politics; consistent with the first objective (and the availability of other courses), the focus is on citizen political behavior and its consequences, rather than on constitutional principles or elite behavior within the institutions of government.
(3) To give advanced Political Science majors the opportunity to preview graduate-level work in American politics and political behavior so that they can better decide on and prepare for graduate school options.
(4) To give Policy Science graduate students the opportunity to read
widely and otherwise prepare for political science (and interdisciplinary)
questions on comprehensive examinations.
Course Requirements:
(1) Faithful and timely completion of all required readings, regular class attendance and constructive participation in class discussions. Classes will be taught largely in a seminar format, with heavy emphasis on student participation.
(2) Responsibility for making a number of presentations (including distributed outlines) in class, each of which will summarize, critique (as appropriate) and guide discussion on some required reading. Each student will be assigned this responsibly about every second or third week (for a total of about 4-6 times over the semester), the exact frequency depending in part on course enrollment.
(3) A literature review essay of about 12 (double-spaced typescript) pages surveying a number of studies (several books and/or about a dozen scholarly articles) focusing on a well-defined topic (perhaps corresponding to one weekly topic) that is within the scope of the course, has been chosen in consultation with the instructor, and does not overlap the topic of another student. These essays will be due prior to the end of the semester; they will be xeroxed and distributed to the class. A quite extensive bibliography covering course topics will be distributed separately.
(4) Reading the review essays of other students and providing brief evaluations of each. These evaluations will be advisory to the instructor.
(5) A written take-home final essay examination designed to resemble,
and to provide practice for, the newly revised comprehensive examinations
that most Policy Science graduate students will subsequently take. Undergraduate
(POLI 429) students only may substitute a two-hour "in-class" essay
exam, if they prefer.
Due Dates:
Presentations: as scheduled
Review essay: proposal to instructor September 27
topic confirmed October 3
due to instructor December 3
distributed to class December 5
Evaluations: with final exam
Take-home final: distributed December 12
due to instructor December 19
In-class final: (set by Registrar) December 19 or TBA
Grading:
In determining your course grade, the course requirements will be weighted as follows:
Class participation 25%
Presentations 25%
Review essay 25%
Final exam 25%
100%
Students will be graded on the basis of their individual levels of achievement;
there are no pre-established grade quotas.
Office Hours and Messages:
I will be available for brief consultations before and after class in the classroom on Thursday nights. For longer or more private consultations, I recommend that you make an appointment to see me in my office (AD 614). My general office hours for Fall 1996 will be MW 12:00-2:00, but I cannot promise always to be in during these hours so, if it is important that you see me on a particular day (even during office hours), I recommend that you make a specific appointment. You can arranged this before or after class or contact me in any way shown below.
Office phone (with 24-hour "voice mail") (410) 455-2187
Department secretary (to leave message) (410) 455-2568
Home (if need be, before 9:30pm) (410) 381-3605
E-mail nmiller@umbc2.umbc.edu
COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS
All readings listed below are required for all students. Each reading
marked with an asterisk (*) will be assigned to a particular student for
a presentation as described in (2) of Course Requirements. The assigned
student will receive a personal xerox copy of the reading (if needed).
Other students may need to borrow a copy from the Library or "in-house"
reserves (as arranged).
1. (September 5) Introduction and Overview
Selections from Bernard Grofman, ed., Information, Participation, and Choice: An Economic Theory of Democracy in Perspective (1995): Grofman, "Introduction"; Downs, "The Origins of An Economic Theory of Democracy"; Almond, "The Early Impact of Downs' An Economic Theory of Democracy on American Political Science"; Grofman, "On the Gentle Art of Rational Choice Bashing" (distributed)
Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, Chapter 1
Nicholas Miller, "Public Choice and the Theory of Voting" (distributed), Sections I-II
Ellen Coughlin, "How Rational is Rational Choice?" Chronicle of Higher
Education, December 4, 1994 (distributed)
2. (September 12) Social Capital and Participation
*Robert Putnam, "Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of
Social Capital in America," PS: Political Science and Politics,
December 1995 (distributed)
3. (September 19) Political Information and Public Opinion
*Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1944), Chapter 21 (distributed)
Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, Chapters 11-13
Nicholas Miller, "Information Costs and Rational Ignorance" (distributed)
Nicholas Miller, "Public Choice and the Theory of Voting" (distributed), Section IV
*Nicholas Miller, "Information, Individual Errors, and Collective Performance: Empirical Evidence on the Condorcet Jury Theorem," Group Decision and Negotiation, May 1966
*Angus Campbell et al., The American Voter (1960), Chapter 10 ("Formation of Issue Concepts and Partisan Change")
*Herbert McClosky, "Consensus and Ideology in American Politics," American Political Science Review, June 1964
*Richard Scammon and Ben Wattenberg, The Real Majority (1970),
Chapter 3 ("A New Tide Observed: The Social Issue")
4. (September 26) Political Participation
*Morris Rosenberg, "Some Determinants of Political Apathy," Political Science Quarterly, Winter 1954-55
*Steven Rosenstone and John Mark Hanson, Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America, Chapters 1-2
*Rosenstone and Hanson, Mobilization..., Chapter 3
*Herbert McClosky, "Issue Conflict and Consensus Among Party Leaders and Followers," American Political Science Review, June 1960
*Philip Converse, et al., "Electoral Myth and Reality: The 1964 Election," American Political Science Review, June 1965
*Aaron Wildavsky, "The Goldwater Phenomenon: Purists, Politicians, and
the Two-Party System," Review of Politics, July 1965
5. (October 3) Rational Choice and Political Mobilization
Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, Chapter 3, pp. 244-247 (review), and Chapter 14 (R)
Nicholas Miller, "Public Choice and the Theory of Voting," Section III (distributed)
*Steven Rosenstone and John Mark Hanson, Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America, Chapter 4
*Rosenstone and Hanson, Mobilization..., Chapter 5
*Rosenstone and Hanson, Mobilization..., Chapter 6-8
*Albert Hirschman, Exit, Voice and Loyalty (1970), Chapters 1-3
6. (October 10) Collective Action
*Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, Introduction and Chapter 1 (pp. 22-33 optional)
*Olson, The Logic..., Chapter 2
*Brian Barry, Sociologists, Economists and Democracy (1970), Chapter 2 ("Political Participation as Rational Action")
*Russell Hardin, "Collective Action as an Agreeable n-Prisoners' Dilemma,"
Behavioral Science, September 1971
7. (October 17) Interest Groups and Policy Arenas
*Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, Chapter 5
*Olson, The Logic..., Chapter 6 and Appendix
Jonathan Rauch, Demosclerosis, Chapter 2 ("Mr. Olson's Planet") (distributed)
*Jack Nagel, Participation, Chapter 9
*Andrew McFarland, Public Interest Lobbies, Chapters 1-2
*E. E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People (1960) (R), Chapters 1-3
*James Q. Wilson, Political Organizations, Chapter 16
8. (October 24) Voting, Spatial Models, and Electoral Competition
*Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1944), Chapter 22
*Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, Chapter 2
Downs, An Economic Theory..., Chapters 3 (review), 4-6
*Downs, An Economic Theory..., Chapter 7
*Downs, An Economic Theory..., Chapter 8
*Albert Hirschman, Exit, Voice and Loyalty, Chapter 6
Nicholas Miller, "Public Choice and the Theory of Voting" (distributed), Sections V-VII
Nicholas Miller, "Voting," in John Eatwell, Murray Milgate, and Peter
Newman, eds., The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics (1988)
(distributed)
9. (October 31) Party Formation, Electoral Systems, and Political Incentives
*E.E. Schattschneider, Party Government, Chapter 3
*E.E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People, Chapters 4-8
*V.O. Key, Jr., Southern Politics (1949), Chapter 14 ("The Nature and Consequences of One-Party Factionalism")
*David Butler, "Electoral Systems," in Butler et al., Democracy at the Polls
*Maurice Duverger, Political Parties, pp. 216-228
*E.E. Schattschneider, Party Government, Chapter 4
*Steven Brams, "Approval Voting: A Practical Reform for Multicandidate Elections," National Civic Review, November 1979
Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, Chapter 9
10. (November 10) Voting Turnout
Steven Rosenstone and John Mark Hanson, Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America, Chapters 3, 5-6 (review)
*Raymond Wolfinger and Steven Rosenstone, Who Votes?, Chapters 1-3
*Wolfinger and Rosenstone, Who Votes?, Chapters 4-6
*Ruy A. Teixeira, "Will the Real Nonvoter Please Stand Up?" Public Opinion, July-August 1988
*Ruy A. Teixeira, "Registration and Turnout," Public Opinion,
January-February 1989
11. (November 14) The Partisan Electorate
*Philip Converse, Angus Campbell, Warren Miller, and Donald Stokes, "Stability and Change in 1960: A Reinstating Election," American Political Science Review, June 1961
*Angus Campbell, "A Classification of the Presidential Elections" in Campbell et al., Elections and the Political Order
*Angus Campbell, "Surge and Decline: A Study of Electoral Change," Public
Opinion Quarterly, Fall 1960
12. (November 21) Electoral Alignments, Realignment, and Dealignment
*V.O. Key, Jr., "A Theory of Critical Elections," Journal of
Politics, February 1955
*Paul Allen Beck, "A Socialization Theory of Partisan Realignment," in Richard Niemi and Herbert Weisberg, eds., Controversies in American Voting Behavior (1976)
*Paul Abramson, "Generational Change and the Decline of Party Identification," in Niemi and Weisberg, eds., Controversies... (1976)
*Martin Wattenberg, "From a Partisan to a Candidate-Centered Electorate,"
in Anthony King, ed., The New American Political System, second
version (1990)
13. (December 5) Catchup/Discuss Review Essays
14. (December 12) (TBA) Catchup/Discuss Review Essays