Spring 2006

GOV 312L • Issues and Policies in American Government

Course Description

Offered on letter-grade basis only. Fulfills second half of legislative requirement for government. This course will compare the U.S. political system with that of Great Britain, Sweden, Russia/Soviet Union, and Mexico in order to analyze how different models of democracy and different types of political regime operate in practice and how they change over time. Specifically, we will examine liberal democracy (the case of the U.S.); social democracy (Sweden); the move from social to liberal democracy (Great Britain); Communist totalitarianism (Soviet Union); authoritarian rule (Mexico); and the democratization of the latter two countries. In this way, the course will examine political decision-making in different institutional settings and analyze how these political differences affect the lives of common citizens.

Grading Policy

1 five-six page essay paper about questions distributed by the instructor; a midterm and final examination; 2 quizzes about the readings. Strict attendance policy. Rigorous enforcement of scholastic honesty norms.

Texts

Benjamin Ginsberg & Martin Shefter, Politics by Other Means, 3d ed. (W.W. Norton, 2002). M. Donald Hancock et al., eds., Politics in Europe: An Introduction to the Politics of the United Kingdom, ... Sweden, Russia,.. 3d ed. (Chatham House, 2002). Daniel Levy & Kathleen Bruhn, Mexico: The Struggle for Democratic Development, 2nd ed. (Univ. California Press, 2006). Coursepack with xeroxed journal articles and book chapters

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