Spring 2008

GOV 312L • issues and Policies in American Government

Course Description

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

3 examinations + 3 quizzes about the readings. Strict attendance policy. Rigorous enforcement of scholastic honesty norms.

Texts

David Held, Models of Democracy, 3rd ed. (Polity Press, 2006) Benjamin Ginsberg & Martin Shefter, Politics by Other Means, 3rd 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,.. 4th ed. (Congressional Quarterly Press, 2007). 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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