POL 3162
Introduction to American Politics
INTRODUCTION
SHANG E. HA
SOGANG UNIVERSITY
Instructor
 Shang E. Ha (하상응)
 Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Sogang
University
 Areas of Interest: political psychology, public opinion,
political participation, voting behavior, and quantitative
methods
 See my CV at http://shangeha.weebly.com
 Email: seha@sogang.ac.kr
 Teaching Assistant: Bomi Lee , bomipeace@sogang.ac.kr
Course Description
 Aim to develop a systematic understanding of
American (i.e., US) politics that goes beyond mere
knowledge of current events
 Understand the similarities and differences in terms
of political processes and institutions between the
US and other countries (particularly Korea)
Among the following countries,
to which do you feel closest…?
The United States
Japan
North Korea
China
Russia
Total
Frequencies
1,115
111
%
73.94
7.36
206
66
10
1,508
13.66
4.38
0.66
100.00
Source: the 2010 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS)
Textbook
 Bianco, William T., and David T. Canon. 2014. American
Politics Today. 4th edition. New York: W. W. Norton
(hereafter APT)
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Available for purchase at Bandi & Luni’s bookstore (as of September
1, 2015, it has not arrived yet; UPDATE – fail to import hard
copies)
May consider purchasing the E-book (downloadable or online; visit:
http://books.wwnorton.edu), which is cheaper ($40 or so)
I will upload ppts and other relevant materials on my
website
We use the “ESSENTIALS” version (neither “FULL” nor “CORE”
version); but content does not vary across versions/editions
On reserve at the main (Loyola) library
May use the 3rd edition
Requirement: Attendance
 Need to get informed of the FA (failure because of
absences) system
 Like other courses offered at Sogang University, lack
of physical participation in class, tardiness in arrival,
and unexcused absences will severely affect the grade
 10% of the final grade
Requirement: Exams
 Three non-cumulative exams (two mid-terms and
one final)
 A combination of (1) multiple choice questions, (2)
true-false statement questions, and (3) short answer
questions (details will be informed later)
 Closed-book, in-class exams
 90% of the final grade (30% per exam)
Office Hours
 10:00 – 12:00/noon Mon, Wed, & Fri or by
appointment
 Dasan Hall, Rm 640
 Highly encourage you to drop by my office at least
ONCE
Course Schedule
 Foundations
 Constitution (Chapter 2); Federalism (Chapter 3); Civil
Liberties (Chapter 4); Civil Rights (Chapter 5)
 Politics
 Public Opinion and the Media (Chapter 6); Political Parties
(Chapter 7); Elections (Chapter 8); Interest Groups (Chapter
9); Congress (Chapter 10); The Presidency (Chapter 11); The
Bureaucracy (Chapter 12); The Courts (Chapter 13)
 Policy
 Domestic Policy (Chapter 14); Foreign Policy (Chapter 15)
Overview
 APT, Chapter 1
 What is politics?
 Why do we have a government?
 What are the sources of conflict in American
politics?
One thing you have to memorize…
(Source: Google Image)
Legalization of Marijuana
Conflict (and Compromise?)
 There has been conflict between some of the states
and the federal government over the legalization of
marijuana.
 In Colorado, voters approved a ballot initiative to
amend the state constitution to legalize and
regulate the recreational use, cultivation, and sale
of marijuana to adults (21 and over) as of January
1, 2014, despite the continuing federal ban on legal
marijuana use.
Why do we have a government?
To provide order
• Thomas Hobbes “Leviathan (1651)”
– Life in the “state of nature” (i.e., without government) would
be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”
• According to the US Constitution, two of the central
goals of governments are:
–
–
To provide for the common defense (military protection
against foreign invasion)
To insure domestic tranquility (law enforcement within the
nation)
Why do we have a government?
To promote the general welfare
• There are some problems that people cannot solve
on their own (e.g., protecting the environment
against pollution)
• Government provides public goods (services or
actions that, once provided to one person, become
available to everyone – e.g., roads, public education)
• The market under-produces public goods because of
collective action problems
Collective action problem
• A situation in which the members of a group would
benefit by working together to produce some
outcome, but each individual is better off refusing to
cooperate and reaping benefits from those who do
the work
• Free riding: the incentive to benefit from others’
work without making a contribution, which leads
individuals in a collective action situation to refuse to
work together
What is politics?
• The process that determines what government does
• Three features of politics
– Politics is conflictual: making government policy involves
issues on which people disagree, sometimes strongly, which
makes compromise difficult
– Political process matters: governmental actions do not happen
by accident – they result from conscious choices made by
elected officials and bureaucrats
– Politics is everywhere
Sources of Conflict in American Politics
 Economic Interests
 The rich vs. the poor
 Democrats tend to favor more redistributive tax policies and
social spending on programs for the poor
 Republicans favor lower taxes and less spending on social
policies, being more supportive of the free market
Income Inequality
Sources of Conflict in American Politics
 Cultural Values
 Religious vs. secular
 Americans disagree on cultural and moral issues such as gay
marriage, abortion, stem cell research, school prayer, gun
control, the teaching of evolution in public schools, etc

Closely related to partisan division (Republican vs. Democrat)
in the contemporary US politics
The “Culture War”
Sources of Conflict in American Politics
• Ideology
–
–
–
–
A comprehensive set of ideas and beliefs that allows us to organize
and evaluate the political world
Liberal: one side of the ideological spectrum defined by support for
stronger government programs and more market regulation
Conservative: one side of the ideological spectrum defined by
support for lower taxes, a free market, and a more limited
government
Libertarians: those who prefer very limited government and
therefore tend to be conservative on issues such as welfare policy,
environmental policy, and public support for education, but liberal
on issues of personal liberty such as free speech, abortion, and the
legalization of drugs
“Red States, Blue States”
(The 2000 Presidential Election, by States)
Source: Wikipedia
“Red States, Blue States”: A Closer Look
Summary Results of 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Presidential Elections (Source: Wikipedia)
Purple America
(The 2012 Presidential Election; Popular Vote by County)
Sources of Conflict in American Politics:
Race and Ethnicity