Columbia University - School of International and Public Affairs
AMERICAN NATIONAL POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY
Public Affairs U6303
Spring 2002
Professor Deborah E. Ward
816 IAB, 854-4080
Office hours: TBA and by appointment
This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamental elements of the political institutions and processes that produce national public policy in the United States. How does the political system identify public issues as problems requiring public action and how does it arrive at and implement policy solutions? Why is it so hard for the government to do anything and why does it always seem to do it badly? More generally, can politics help explain why the government produces outcomes that economic policy analysis would call "inefficient"? We will explore these issues both generally and through a more focused study of two important domestic policy issues: urban renewal and welfare reform.
Course Requirements
Regular attendance, reading, and participation are expected. Students will be required to write two essays and to give one presentation in class. The first essay (6-8 pages) will be due March 12th and will cover general features of the policy process. The second essay (8-10 pages) will be due on April 30th and will be a political analysis of some aspect of welfare reform, healthcare reform, urban renewal/development or national security policy. Detailed assignments will be passed out several weeks in advance of the due dates. Oral presentations should be 10 minutes long. They should NOT simply summarize the week"s readings. They must extract the critical issues and problems of the week"s topic and stimulate discussion. Each week"s presenter(s) will participate in leading the discussion.
A further aim of this course is to encourage clear and concise writing about politics and policy. Written work will be evaluated not only for quality of ideas but also for clarity and economy of expression. Flawless grammar and correct spelling are minimum requirements for satisfactory writing. If you have any questions about acceptable grammar and style, please refer to The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.
Books and Readings
The following books have been ordered at Labyrinth Books, 536 West 112th Street:
R. Douglas Arnold, The Logic of Congressional Action (Yale)
Lawrence R. Jacobs and Robert Y. Shapiro, Politicians Don"t Pander. Political
Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness (Chicago)
John W. Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies, 2nd ed. (Longman)
James Madison, et al, The Federalist Papers
Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents (Free Press)
William Riordon, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (E.P. Dutton & Co.)
Deborah Stone, Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making (Norton)
Margaret Weir, The Social Divide, (Brookings)
All readings are available on reserve at Lehman Library. In addition to the readings on the syllabus, students should read a major daily newspaper " preferably the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post.
Course Outline and Required Readings
January 22
Introduction: Politics and Policy
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language"
January 29
Politics, Markets and Policymaking: Theories of Public Policy
Charles Schultze, The Public Use of Private Interest, Chapter 3
Deborah Stone, Policy Paradox, Introduction and Chapters 1-2, 10
Charles Lindblom, "The Science of Muddling Through," Public Administration Review
19 (1959): 79-88
Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz, "Two Faces of Power," American Political Science Review,
Vol. 57, (December 1962), pp. 947-952.
February 5
Defining Public Policy Problems and Setting the Policy Agenda
Deborah Stone, Policy Paradox, Chapters 6-8
John W. Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies, Chapters 1-9
Ann Shola Orloff, Theda Skocpol and Margaret Weir, "Understanding American Social
Politics," in The Politics of Social Policy in the United States, p. 3-35
February 12
Devolution and Federalism " Intergovernmental Relations
Madison, et al, The Federalist Papers, (pages to be assigned)
Paul Peterson, The Price of Federalism, Chapters 1 & 7
February 19
Public Opinion and Public Policy
Lawrence R. Jacobs and Robert Y. Shapiro, Politicians Don"t Pander, Chapters 1-2
February 26
Parties and Interest Groups
William L. Riordon, The Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, Introduction, Preface and five "talks"
Deborah Stone, Policy Paradox, Chapter 9
Margaret Weir, "Political Parties and Social Policymaking," and Cathie Jo Martin,
"Inviting Business to the Party: The Corporate Response to Social Policy," in The Social Divide, ed. Margaret Weir
March 5
Congress: Maker of Policy or Agent of Gridlock?
R. Douglas Arnold, The Logic of Congressional Action, Chapters 1-6, 10 and 7 or 8 or 9
John Ferejohn, "A Tale of Two Congresses: Social Policy in the Clinton Years," in The
Social Divide, ed. Weir
March 12
The Presidency: Power, Persuasion or Politics
Richard Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, Prefaces, Chapters 1-
7, 12-13
Stephen Skowronek, The Politics Presidents Make, Chapters 2-3
March 19 - Spring Break
March 26
The Executive-Legislative Nexus: The Bureaucracy
James Q. Wilson, Bureaucracy, Chapters 13-14
Terry M. Moe, "The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure," in Can The Government
Govern?, ed. John E. Chubb and Paul E. Peterson
April 2
The Politics of Urban Policy and Development
William Julius Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged, Chapters 1-7
Clarence Stone and Heywood Sanders, eds. The Politics of Urban Development,
Chapters 1 and 14
April 9
The Politics of Welfare Reform
R. Kent Weaver, "Ending Welfare as We Know It"
Margaret Weir, "American Politics and the Future of Social Policy"
Linda Faye Williams, "Race and the Politics of Social Policy"
(above all in The Social Divide, ed. Weir)
Robert Lieberman, "Race and the Organization of Welfare Policy," in Classifying by Race, ed.
Paul Peterson
April 16
National Security Policy
Guest lecturers TBA
April 23
Conclusion: Can the Government Govern?
John E. Chubb and Paul E. Peterson, "American Political Institutions and the Problem of Governance," in Can the Government Govern?, ed. Chubb and Peterson
Deborah Stone, Policy Paradox and Political Reason, Conclusion