University of Edinburgh
School of Social and Political Science/Politics & IR
PLIT10027
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
Semester 1
Autumn 2012
Course Organiser:
Dr Elizabeth Bomberg
Chrystal MacMillan Building, room 3.06
email: e.bomberg@ed.ac.uk
office tel: 650 4248
office hours: Thursdays, 11am-1pm
Course tutor
Preston Trent Olsen
p.t.olsen@sms.ed.ac.uk
office hours: by appointment
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COURSE GUIDE CONTENTS
COURSE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
COURSE STRUCTURE
Lectures and Tutorials
Lecture Programme
COURSE ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
READINGS
General Guidance
Readings by Topics
APPENDICES
1) Essay
2) Guide to Referencing
3) List of US Politics Websites
4) Tutorial Arrangements
Overview of topics
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COURSE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Welcome to US Government
Aims: This honours course aims to provide students with a critical understanding of:
 the foundations of US government, including core ‘American’ political values and
beliefs;
 the major government institutions and linkages between those institutions and US
citizens, with particular emphasis on campaigns and elections
 policies and issues arising from these values, institutions and links between them.
Objectives: By the end of the course students should be able to:
 demonstrate knowledge of key ideological concepts and approaches used to analyse
US government institutions and processes
 exhibit a solid grasp of key institutions and dynamics of US government;
 evaluate alternative explanations for particular political developments and events in
the US;
 make their own assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the US system of
government.
Learn (formerly WebCT)
Please get in the habit of using Learn for this course. The course guide, announcements and
extra readings (as available) are available on Learn beginning Week 1. Tutorials sign-ups are
also via Learn. Lecture slides will also be posted there after the lecture. (Note these outlines
are meant to be used as a review, or as an outline in case you miss lecture. They are not a
substitute for lecture notes which we would encourage you to take yourself.) We’ll also use
Learn for tutorial discussions and announcements and further tips and readings on your
policy report.
COURSE STRUCTURE AND PROGRAMME
This course is structured around weekly lectures (attended by the entire class) and a weekly
50 minute tutorial (attended by @13-14 students each). Some lecture slot time will also be used
for class discussion (see below)
Lecture
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Lecture slot is: Tuesday, 10:00 -10:50 in Appleton Lecture Theatre 1. In most weeks Bomberg
will present a 50-minute lecture to outline the week’s topic. These lectures are meant to
provide a broad outline of the topic and point you towards key readings and debates. Key
insights on the topic in question will, of course, come from your own reading and reflection.
In weeks 7 and 8 the format will vary: Bomberg will give a very short ‘lecturette’ followed by
entire class discussion on aspects of campaign strategies, spending, and media. Closer to the
date class groups will be given specific topics or readings to discuss.
Lecture Programme 2010 (Tuesdays, 10:00-10:50am)
Week 1 (18 Sept): Introduction: Core Concepts and Culture
Week 2 (25 Sept): Constitution, rights and liberties
Week 3 (2 Oct):
Judiciary and Congress
Week 4 (9 Oct):
Presidency
Week 5 (16 Oct): Parties and Interest Groups
Week 6 (23 Oct ): Voting and Elections
Week 7 (30 Oct): Lecturette and Class Discussion (money & campaign strategy)
Week 8 (6 Nov): Lecturette and Class Discussion (media) ELECTION DAY
Week 9 (13 Nov): Domestic Policies
Week 10 (20 Nov): Domestic Sources of Foreign Policy
Coursework due Fri 23 Nov, 12noon
Week 11 (27 Nov): Exam review, no tutorials
Tutorials (see also ‘tutorial arrangements’, p25)
The weekly, 50 minute tutorial is designed to give you an opportunity to discuss your ideas
and try out arguments with other students. The tutorials will be led by Elizabeth Bomberg and
Trent Olsen. Tutorials are compulsory, assessed and worth 10% of students’ final mark.
They begin week 1. The tutorial programme is attached (see p26). Further details will be
provided in the first tutorial and made available on Learn.
COURSE ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
Assessment for this course is as follows:
 tutorial assessment 10% (see separate ‘Tutorial Arrangements’ p25)
 essay: 35% (see Appendix 1, p19)
 final exam: 55%
Coursework (see p.19): You will need to submit one 3000-3500 word essay which will ask
you to apply a scholarly model to one of the following dynamics studied in the course
(Congress, presidential performance, campaigns and elections ) The essay will count towards
35% of your overall course mark.
Please see the Politics and IR Honours Handbook for further information on submission of
coursework; Late Penalty Waivers; plagiarism; learning disabilities, special circumstances;
common marking descriptors, re-marking procedures and appeals.
Final Examination
The examination for this course (worth 55% of your final mark) will take place during the
University’s Autumn exam diet (10-21 Dec 2012). Note: all students are required to sit the
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exam; visiting students need to ensure that they are present during this exam period. The
precise date is set by Registry and is available on their website in late October.
The exam will last two hours. It will consist of 6 questions covering the entire course. You
will be asked to answer two questions. An exam revision session will be offered in week 11,
and sample questions will be provided at that time. Past exam papers (which may differ
slightly in form and content) can be found on the library’s web page:
http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/collections/exams.shtml
Remember to consult the Politics and IR handbooks for exam mark descriptors.
General feedback on the Dec 2012 exam will be available on Learn in January 2013. For more
useful information on exam marking procedures (how it’s done; who does it), appeals,
getting the most feedback, etc., please see the IR or Politics honours handbook
READINGS
Recommended texts
If you are new to US government, or if you want a basic text to see you through the course, we
recommend you purchase at least one of the texts listed below in bold and available at
Blackwells (South Bridge) or Word Power (W Nicholson Street):
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


Katz, R. Political Institutions in the US (OUP, 2007) (concise text written for British
students; author places US politics in comparative perspective)
McKay, D. American Politics and Society, 7th ed (Blackwell, 2009) Basic and thorough
text; earlier editions available as e-book
Peele, et al, (eds.) Developments in American Politics 6 (Palgrave 2010) assumes basic
knowledge of US Government ; examines key areas of US government and politics. Earlier
edition available as e-book;
Miroff, M. Seidelman, R and Swanstrom, T (eds) Debating Democracy. A Reader in
American Politics, 5th ed (Houghton-Mifflin 2005 or earlier editions) Interesting
collection of debates on key contemporary issues.
Other texts you may find useful, especially given our emphasis of campaigns and elections,
are below. I’ve asked the local bookshops to order copies:
 Barker, D and Carman, C. 2012. Representing Red and Blue: How the Culture Wars Change
the Way Citizens Speak and Politicians Listen (Oxford University Press, not published
until October)

Heileman, J. Halperin, M. 2010. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and
Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime (Harper Collins)

Popkin, Samuel L. 2012. The Candidate: What it Takes to Win – and Hold – the White
House. (Oxford University Press)
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Schlozman, L. K., Verba, S. and Brady, H. 2012. The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal
Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy (Princeton Univ Press)

Wayne, S. (2012) Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election? 4th ed. (CQ Press)
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Several other general introductory textbooks on US politics are also available in the library
reserve for additional background reading.
Journals and Newspapers
It is important that you stay up-to-date on recent developments in US government. Make an
effort to consult a quality daily news source which provides decent coverage of US politics.
For major US newspaper coverage, we recommend the New York Times (www.nytimes.com)
and the Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com), both of which have a very user-friendly
website and daily news bulletins.
Several useful academic journals and weekly magazines are available in the library.
Virtually all of these are now available electronically, although not for all years. The most
important weeklies include Campaigns and Elections, and the Economist
(www.economist.com). The most helpful journals include the American Political Science
Review, CQ Researcher, Foreign Affairs, Presidential Studies Quarterly. The New York
Review of Books and New Yorker also carry extended essays on topical matters in US politics.
(See also news sources listed in Appendix 3).
The following journals also often feature relevant articles:
British Journal of Political Science, from 2000; Journal of American Studies; Journal of
Politics; Government and Opposition,
Perspectives on Politics, Political
Quarterly,Parliamentary Affairs; PS and Prospect Perspectives on Politics; Policy and
Politics; Politics; Political Quarterly; Political Studies; Society.
Websites
You’ll find a plethora of websites on US politics. I’ve attached a list of websites organised by
topic (see Appendix 3). Most Internet search engines can direct you to a variety of US politics
websites, or you can search for sites related to a particular topic. Note that websites vary
tremendously in terms of quality, credibility and reliability. Website sources will not
substitute for all the ‘hard copy’ readings listed in this handout.
Blogs: Included in the website list are several weblogs which follow and comment on current
events from a variety of political perspectives. It is both informative and entertaining to
consult these weblogs but, again, please do not mistake them for an authoritative or scholarly
source.
SPS Student Reading Room
In the SPS Student Reading Room (basement of CMB) we keep a box of old-fashioned hard
copy news clippings and journal articles. It’s worth checking out…. and the reading room is a
useful resource to exploit more generally.
READING LIST BY TOPICS
The readings under each topic are listed alphabetically. As a general rule, you are expected to
read at least 3 pieces each week: the relevant chapter from your chosen text (or equivalent)
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and two additional book chapters, sections or journal articles. You will be asked to bring to
tutorial a short summary of insights linked to the tutorial topic and derived from the reading.
Use the lists below for your tutorial and report readings as well. Unless otherwise noted, all
works listed are available on-line, in the library reserve book collection (HUB), or in the main
stacks. Where known, library shelfmarks are provided at first listing.
Note: Asterisked [*] readings offer either a particularly relevant or insightful analysis, or a
particularly useful overview.
WEEK 1 (18 Sept) INTRODUCTION: CORE CONCEPT AND CULTURE
Read the introduction from your chosen text and/or one other work sometime this week. We realise you
may not be able to do much before Week 1’s tutorial, but give it a go.
Textbooks
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 1
McKay, D. (2009), American Politics and Society, 7th ed, ch 1 and/or 2 JK274 Mack
Vile, MJC (2007) Politics in the USA (chapter 1)
Values, creed and culture
Bailey, C. (2006) ‘Values, Lifestyles and Politics’ in Developments in American Politics 5, ch11
Beer, S (1993) To Make a Nation JK 325 Bee
Dahl, R. (1998) On Democracy (JC 423 Dah)
Economist (2010) ‘America’s Democracy. A Study in Paralysis’ 20 Feb (e-journal)
*Foley, M. (2007) The American Credo. The Place of Ideas in American Politics JK275 Fol
Foley, M. (1991) American Political Ideas (esp chapter on Individualism) JK9 Fol.
Hess, (2002) American Social and Political Thought. A Reader
Katznelson, I. and Kesselman, M. (1979 or 2002) The Politics of Power JK271 Kat.
Lilla, M (2010) ‘The Tea Party Jacobins’ New York Review of Books 27 May 2010
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/may/27/tea-partyjacobins/?pagination=false
Lipset, S M (1991) ‘Equality and the American Creed’ Progressive Policy Institute Lipset
Mann, T. and Ornstein, N. ‘Five Delusions About Our Broken Politics’ The American Interest,
July/August. Available here: www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=1267
Nivola, P. 2012 ‘Two Cheers for Our Peculiar Politics: America’s Political Process and the
Economic Crisis’ Brookings Institution Working Paper, May 21, 2012 Available here:
www.brookings.edu/
*Peele, G. (2010) ‘A New Political Agenda?’ in Peele, etal Developments in American Politics 6
Schattschneider, E. (1960) Semisovereign People. A Realist View of Democracy in America
(JK 271 Sch)
Schwarz, J. Freedom Reclaimed. Rediscovering the American Vision
Szymanskik S and Zimbalist , A. (2005) National Pastime. How Americans Play Baseball and
the Rest of the World Plays Soccer. GV716 Szy
de Tocqueville, A. (2000; 1966) Democracy in America JK 216 Toc [also excerpted in Hess,
(2002) American Social and Political Thought. A Reader, chapt 10]
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 1 (21/22 SEPT): INTRODUCTION
Tutorial programme, projects and requirements explained.
Try to read one introductory chapter and/or one other reading/news story of your choice
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WEEK 2. (25 Sept) US CONSTITUTION, RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
Constitution
*Beard, C. (1935) An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution JK146 Bea. (also excerpted
in Miroff 2003);
Brinkley, A. et al (1997) The New Federalist Papers. Essays in Defense of the Constitution JK
271 Bri
*Dahl, R. (2002) How Democratic is the American Constitution KF4550 Dah.
Edling, M. (2003) A Revolution in Favor of Government. Origins of the U.S. Constitution ebook available at:
http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/politicalscience/9780195148701/toc.html
Foley, M. (1991) American Political Ideas ch 10
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 1, 2
*Kernell, S and Smith, S (eds.) (2000) Principles and Practice of American Politics , chapt 2
McKay, D., (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 3
*Madison, J., Hamilton, A. and Jay, J. (1987) The Federalist Papers JK157 Mad. (or any other
edition)
*Miroff, B. et al (2003; 2005) Debating Democracy, chs 1, 3 JK1726 Deb.
Peele, G. et al (2006) ‘Introduction’ in Peele, et al, (ed.) Developments in American Politics 5,
ch 1, available at: Peele Introduction (covers constitutional constraints)
Public Agenda Online (2002) ‘Knowing it by Heart: Americans Consider the Constitution and
its Meaning’ http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/knowing-it-heart
Scialabba, G (2002) ‘Democracy Proof’ (review of Dahl) The American Prospect Magazine online July. Available at http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=democracyproof
Shafritz, J. and Wienberg, L (2000) Classics in American Government, 2nd ed. Ch1
(Constitutional Framework) (JK21 Cla)
Smith, R. (2008) The American Anomaly. US Politics and Government in Comparative
Perspective (JK 275 Smi), ch 2,3
Shortto, R (2010) ‘How Christian Were the Founders?’ NY Times Magazine, 11 Feb,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/magazine/14texbooks-t.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=all
*Sunstein, C (2009) ‘The Enlarged Republic – Then and Now’. New York Review of Books 26
March sunstein
*Wasby, S. (ed) (2001) Essentials of the American Constitution
Rights and Liberties
Bell, D (2004) Silent Covenants: Brown v Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for
Racial Reform. KF4155 Bel
Bowman, K (2010) ‘Attitudes about Abortion’ AEI Online, January 21, 2010
www.aei.org/docLib/Public%20Opinion%20Study%20-%20Abortion%202010.pdf
Campbell, D. and Putnam, R. (2011-12) ‘America's Grace: How a Tolerant Nation Bridges Its
Religious Divides’ Political Science Quarterly, 126 (4) p611-40 (e-journal)
Congressional Research Service (2012) Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues RL31994, May 9.
Available here: www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31994.pdf
*Deadalus (2011) Special Issue on Race in the Age of Obama vol 140(1) Winter
Ferguson, J. (2011) ‘Freedom, Equality, Race’ Daedalus vol. 140 ( 1): 44-52
Haider-Markel, D. (2003) ‘Gay Rights’ in Singh, R. Governing America, ch. 23
Hartney, C. and Vuong, L (2009) ‘Created Equal: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the US
Criminal Justice System’ National Council on Crime and Delinquency, March 2009
www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pdf/CreatedEqualReport2009.pdf
Hollifield, J. (2010) ‘Nation of Nations: US Immigration Policy and Politics ’ in Peele, et al
Developments in American Politics 6
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Lax, J. and Phillips, J. (2009). 'Gay Rights in the States: Public Opinion and Policy
Responsiveness,' American Political Science Review, vol 103 (3):367-386) (e-journal)
Lipson, Daniel N. (2008) Where’s the Justice? Affirmative Action’s Severed Civil Rights Roots
in the Age of Diversity. Perspectives on Politics, 6 (4) 691-707
Meyer, D and Boutcher, A S (2007) ‘Signals and Spillover: Brown v Board of Education and
Other Social Movements’ Perspectives on Politics. Vol 5(1) March: 81-93 (e-journal)
*Miroff, B., et al (2003 2006) Debating Democracy, ch 16 JK1726 Deb.
Obama, B. (2008) Race in America. Available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html?emc=eta1
Sabbagh, D. 2011 Affirmative Action: The U.S. Experience in Comparative Perspective
Daedalus, vol 140(2) Spring
Spaeth, H. (2001) Majority Rule or Minority Will. Adherence to Precedent on the US Supreme
Court (KF8748 Spa)
Steinberg, S. (ed) (2000) Race and Ethnicity in the United States : Issues and Debates E184.A1
Rac.
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 8
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 16
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 2 (25/26 SEPT)
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS AN ‘AMERICAN IDEOLOGY’?
WEEK 3 (2 Oct) THE SUPREME COURT AND CONGRESS
Supreme Court
American Enterprise Institute (2005) ‘Public Opinion and the Supreme Court’, available at
http://www.aei.org/paper/22863
Baum, L (2001) The Supreme Court
Bork, R. (1991) The Tempting of America: the Political Seduction of the Law KF51 30 Bor
Citizen’s United v. Federal Election Commission No. 08-205 (2010), available at
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/pdf/08-205P.ZO
Congressional Research Service (2005) ‘Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the
President, Judiciary Committee, and Senate’, July 05 available at
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/50146.pdf
Harriger , K (2011) ‘Judicial Supremacy or Judicial Defense? The Supreme Court and the
Separation of Powers’ Political Science Quarterly, vol 126 (2), p201-22. Summer 2011
Ivers, G. and McIver, K. (eds.) (2004) Creating Constitutional Change: Clashes Over Power
and Liberty in the Supreme Court KF4549 Cre
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 8
Kernell, S and Smith, S (eds.) (2000) Principles and Practice of American Politics, ch 9, 5, 4
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 15
*McKeever, R (1995) Raw Judicial Power? The Supreme Court and American Society
Martin, P. (2010) ‘The Supreme Court ’ in Peele, et al Developments in American Politics 6
Pacelle, R. (2001) The Role of the Supreme Court in American Politics
Perry, B. (2009) Supremely Representative: Should the Nation's Highest Court Look Like
America?’ on-line at Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball, June 4.
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/bap2009060402/
Shafritz, J. and Wienberg, L (2000) Classics in American Government, 2nd ed. Ch 12
Smith, R. (2008) The American Anomaly. (JK 275 Smi), ch 7
*Toobin, J. (2009) ‘Bench Press. Are Obama’s judges really liberals?’ New Yorker, Available
at: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/21/090921fa_fact_toobin
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*Toobin, J (2010) ‘Activism v. Restraint’ The New Yorker, May 24, Available at:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/05/24/100524taco_talk_toobin
Toobin, J. (2012) Money Unlimited: How Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrated the Citizens
United decision The New Yorker, May 21, www.newyorker.com/
Urofksy, I. (2010) ‘U.S. Supreme Court: The Highest Court of the Land - Scene Setter.’ Briefing
by the Foreign Press Center, 2010 fpc.state.gov/143666.htm
Congress
Abramowitz, A (2010) ‘Health Care as an Issue in the Midterm Election’ Sabato's Crystal Ball,
5 May http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/aia2010050601/
Alverez, J. (2005) ‘Sweetening the US Legislature: The Remarkable Success of the Sugar Lobby’
The Political Quarterly, vol 76 (1), pp. 92-99 (e-journal)
*Bai, M (2009) ‘Taking the Hill’ (Obama, health care and Congress) New York Times, 2 June.
www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/magazine/07congress-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine
Greenblatt, A. (2011) ‘Can Redistricting Ever Be Fair?’ Governing, November Available at:
www.governing.com/
Davidson, R. and Oleszek, W (2006) Congress and Its Members JK1061 Dav
English, R. (2003) The United States Congress (e-book)
Ericson, M. 2012. Battle for the Senate’ New York Times (nalysis of the sixteen Senate seats in
play). Available at: elections.nytimes.com/2012/ratings/senate
Fenno, R. (1978) Home Style. House Members in Their District (JK1323 1978);
Fiorina, M (1977) Congress. Keystone of the Washington Establishment JK1071 Fio [excerpted
in Mirroff Debating Democracy, chpt 13]
Johnson, C (2003) (for the Library of Congress) How Our Laws are Made: pdf file at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
Karpowitz, C., Monson, J. Patterson, J. and Pope, J. (2011) Tea Time in America? The Impact
of the Tea Party Movement on the 2010 Midterm Elections’ PS: Political Science and
Politics, vol 44(2), 303-11
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 6
*Kernell, S and Smith, S (eds.) (2000) Principles and Practice of American Politics. Classic and
Contemporary Readings, ch 6
Loomis, B. (2000) Contemporary Congress JK1021 Loo.
Loomis, B. (ed.) (2000) Esteemed Colleagues. Civility and Deliberation in the U.S. Senate
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 8 and 9
Mayhew, D. (1976). Congress. The Electoral Connection
Mann, T . (2010) ‘Congress’ in Peele, et al Developments in American Politics 6
*Mann, T. and Ornstien, N. (2006) The Broken Branch. How Congress is Failing America and
How to Get It Back On Track. JK1041 Man
Miroff, B., et al (2005) Debating Democracy, ch 13 JK1726 Deb.
Ornstein, N (2010) ‘True Legislators Becoming Scarce in Congress’ By Norman J. Ornstein Roll
Call, 12 May www.rollcall.com/issues/55_131/ornstein/46098-1.html
Parker, G R., and Davidson, R. (1979). ‘Why Do American Love Their Congressmen so Much
More than Their Congress?’ Legislative Studies Quarterly 4 (1):53-61.
Polsby, N. (2004) How Congress Evolves : Social Bases of Institutional Change (JK 1319)
Rasmussen Reports (2010) ‘Congressional Performance: Congress Still Receives Poor Ratings
From Voters’ Rasmussen Reports June 21, 2010
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congres
sional_performance>
Rothenberg, S (2012) Senate Majority Still Up for Grabs in November Rothenberg Political
Report, June 22 Available t:
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*Smith, S (2010) ‘The Senate Syndrome’ The Brookings Institution, June 2010 Available at:
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2010/06_cloture_smith/06_cloture
_smith.pdf
*Shafritz, J. and Wienberg, L (2000) Classics in American Government, 2nd ed. Ch 10
Smith, R. (2008) The American Anomaly (JK 275 Smi), ch 6
US Senate (2010) ‘Examining the Filibuster: The Filibuster Today and Its Consequences’ Senate
Committee on Rules and Administration, Hearing May.
http://rules.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=CommitteeSchedule&ContentRecord_id=0
73c68fc-b773-41d9-8fda-8ba9266d848a
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 3 (2/3 OCT)
REPORT ON CONGRESSIONAL RACES
WEEK 4 (9 Oct) THE PRESIDENCY
Textbooks
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 5
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 10
Beyond Texts
Coglianese, G (2009) ‘The Transparency President? The Obama Administration and Open
Government’ Governance vol 22 (4) 529-44
Cohen, J. E. (2011), ‘Presidents, Polarization, and Divided Government’. Presidential Studies
Quarterly, 41: 504–520
Dickenson, M. J. (2009) ‘We All Want a Revolution: Neustadt, New Institutionalism, and the
Future of Presidency Research’. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 39: 736–770
Edwards, G and King, D (eds.) (2007) The Polarized Presidency of George W. Bush (ebook)
http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/politicalscience/9780199217977/toc.html
Fallows, J. (2012). ‘Obama, Explained’ The Atlantic, March. www.theatlantic.com/
Hacker, J. S. and Pierson, P. (2012), ‘Presidents and the Political Economy: The Coalitional
Foundations of Presidential Power’. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 42: 101–131
*Jacobson, G. C. (2011), ‘Legislative Success and Political Failure: The Public's Reaction to
Barack Obama's Early Presidency’. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 41: 220–243
Jacobson, G. (2009) ‘The Effects of the George W. Bush Presidency on Partisan Attitudes’
Presidential Studies Quarterly vol 39 (2) (e-journal)
Jones, C (2007) The American Presidency. A Very Short Introduction JK516 Jon
*Jones, C.O. (1995) Separate But Equal JK305 Jon
Kernell, S. (1986) Going public. New strategies of presidential leadership JK518 Ker (also
excerpted in Kernell and Smith)
*Kernell, S and Smith, S (eds.) (2000) Principles and Practice of American Politics, ch 7
*Lowi, T. (1985) The Personal President JK516 Low
Miroff, B., et al (2003; 2005) Debating Democracy, ch 14 JK1726 Deb.
Moe, T. M. (2009), ‘The Revolution in Presidential Studies’. Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol
39: 701–724.
*Nelson, M. (ed) (2003) The Presidency and the Political System
*Neustadt, R. (1960; 1980; 1990) Presidential Power JK516 Neu (any edition; introductory
chapter also excerpted in Shafritz and Weinberg, 2000)
Pious, R. M. (2011), Prerogative Power in the Obama Administration: Continuity and Change
in the War on Terrorism. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 41: 263–290
Roper, J . (2010) The Presidency’ in Peele, et al Developments in American Politics 6
*Schlesinger, A (1974) The Imperial Presidency JK 511 Sch
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Shafritz, J. and Wienberg, L (2000) Classics in American Government, 2nd ed. Ch 11 (JK21 Cla)
Shogan, C. (2007) ‘Anti Intellectualism in the Modern Presidency: A Republican Populism’
Perspectives on Politics. Vol 5(2) Je 2007: 295-303 (e-journal)
*Skocpol, T. and Jacobs, L. (2012) ‘Accomplished and Embattled: Understanding Obama's
Presidency’ Political Science Quarterly, vol 127 (1) p 1-24. Available at:
www.psqonline.org/article.cfm?IDArticle=18876
Smith, R. (2008) The American Anomaly. (JK 275 Smi), ch 5
Thompson, D (2010) ‘Constitutional Character: Virtues and Vices in Presidential Leadership’
Presidential Studies Quarterly vol 40 (1) : 23–37)
Vaughn, J. S. (2011), ‘The Intellectual Presidency: Presidential Leadership and the
Development of Political Thought’. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 41: 637–639 (book
review essay)
West, D (2011) ‘What Happened to Obama? An Opinion Piece’ Political Studies Quarterly vol
126(3) p493-500
Wildavsky, A. (1998) ‘The Two Presidencies’ Society Vol. 35 (2) p23-32 (e-journal) .
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 7 (9/10 OCT)
What are the key factors shaping presidential performance?
WEEK 5 (16 Oct) PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS
Textbooks
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 4
McKay, D., (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 5, 14
Parties
Abrajano, M. and Alvarez, R. M. (2011) ‘Hispanic Public Opinion and Partisanship in
America’ Political Science Quarterly vol 126 (2) 255-86.
Abramowitz , A (2010) ‘Beyond 2010: Demographic Change and the Future of the Republican
Party’ Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, March 11th,
www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/aia2010031101/
Cain, B and Goux, D. (2006) ‘Parties in an era of Renewed Partisanship’ in Developments in
American Politics 5, ch3
Cohen, B. Fleisher , T. and Kantor, T. (eds) (2001) American Political Parties
Democratic Party Platform, 2012 Available at: http://www.democrats.org/democraticnational-platform
Downs, A. (1957) An Economic Theory of Democracy JF 1351 Dow
Fiorina M. (2002) ‘Parties and Partisanship. A 40 year Retrospective’ Political Behavior,
(Special Issue) vol. 2: p93-115
Galston, W (2010) ‘Can a Polarized American Party System Be “Healthy”? Issues in
Governance Studies, no 34. Brookings Institution. Available at:
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2010/04_polarization_galston.aspx
Harvard, Kennedy School of Governments, linklist for third parties available at
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/case/3pt/sources.html#parties
Herrnson, P.S. (2009) The Roles of Party Organizations, Party-Connected Committees, and
Party Allies in Elections. Journal of Politics, vol. 71 (4) Oct: 1207-1224 (e-journal)
Lawrence, E., Sides, J. and Farrell, H. (2010). ‘Self-Segregation or Deliberation? Blog
Readership, Participation, and Polarization in American Politics.’ Perspectives on
Politics 8(1): 141-157. (A Los Angeles Times editorial by Sides and Lawrence
summarizes the main findings. Available at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-sides13-2008jul13,0,3601017.story.)
12
McKay, D., (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 5
Maisel, S (2007) American Political Parties and Elections. A Very Short Introduction (JK 1965
Mai)
Milkis, S. and Rhodes, J. (2009) ‘Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and the Future of the
“New American Party System”’ The Forum, Vol 7 (1), Article 7 (e-journal)
*Miroff, B., et al (2005) Debating Democracy, ch 10 JK1726 Deb.
Ornstein, N. and Mann, T. (2011) ‘The Pitfalls of a Third-Party Candidacy’ Washington Post,
September 13,. Available at: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-pitfalls-of-athird-party-candidacy/2011/09/08/gIQA4axWQK_story.html
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2012) ‘Partisan Polarization Surges During
Bush, Obama Years’ 4 June www.people-press.org/values/
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2011), ‘Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political
Typology’ May 4. people-press.org/
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2011) More Now See GOP as Very
Conservative’ September. people-press.org/2011/09/12/more-now-see-gop-as-veryconservative/
Republican Party Platform, 2012, Available at: http://www.gop.com/2012-republicanplatform_home/
Schattschneider, E. (1977) Party Government (JK 2265)
Smith, R. (2008) The American Anomaly. US Politics and Government in Comparative
Perspective (JK 275 Smi), ch 9
Taylor, A (2005) Elephant’s Edge: The Republicans as a Ruling Party JK2356 Tay
Vile, MJC (2007) Politics in the USA , ch 3
Ware, A (2010) ‘Political Parties and the New Partisanship’ in Peele, et al Developments in
American Politics 6
Webb, P. (2002) Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies (e-book) (chapter on US)
Interest Groups
Alverez, J. (2005) ‘Sweetening the US Legislature: The Remarkable Success of the Sugar Lobby’
The Political Quarterly, vol 76 (1), pp. 92-99 (e-journal)
Apollonio, D. (2010) ‘Interest Groups’ in Peele, et al Developments in American Politics 6
Armstrong, J. and Zuniga, M (2006) Crashing the Gate. Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of
People-Powered Politics. (JK1764 Arm)
Baumgartner, F .(2008) Lobbying and Policy Change : Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why JK1118
Lob
Bomberg, E and Schlosberg, D (eds) (2008) Environmentalism in the US: Changing
Conceptions of Activism (special issue of Environmental Politics, vol 17(2) (e-journal)
*Ciglar, A. and B Loomis (2005 ) Interest Group Politics JK1118 Int
*Dahl, R. (1961) Who Governs?
FitzGerald, F. (2007) ‘The Evangelical Surprise’ New York Review of Books, April 26
(available at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2007/apr/26/the-evangelical-surprise/
Lukes, S. (1974 or 2005) Power: A Radical View. (e-book and hardback)
*Herrnson, et al (2005) Interest Group Connection: Electioneering, Lobbying and
Policymaking (e-book)
Kernell, S and Smith, S (eds.) (2000) Principles and Practice of American Politics, chs 1 and 13
Lowi, T. (1969, or 1979 edition) End of Liberalism
McKay, D., (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 14
Putnam, R (2000) Bowling Alone. Collapse and Revival of American Community (HN 65 Put)
Schattschneider, E. (1960) Semisovereign People. A Realist View of Democracy in America
(JK 271 Sch)
Schlozman, L. K., Verba, S. and Brady, H. (2012) The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political
Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy (on order)
13
Smith, R. (2008) The American Anomaly. (JK 275 Smi), ch 9
de Tocqueville, A. (2000; 1966 or other edition ) Democracy in America JK 216 Toc [also
excerpted in Hess, (2002) American Social and Political Thought. A Reader, chapt 10]
Thurber, J. A. (2011), ‘Changing the Way Washington Works? Assessing President Obama's
Battle with Lobbyists. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 41: 358–374.
Truman, D. (1951) The Governmental Process (JK 1118 Tru)
Nb: see also readings on Super Pacs under week 8 (campaigns and elections)
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 5 (19/20 OCT)
How polarized has the US become? Answer with reference to either parties or interest groups
WEEK 6 (23 Oct) VOTING AND ELECTIONS: APPROACHES & ISSUES
General
Abramowitz, A. 2008. “Forecasting the 2008 Presidential Election with the Time-for-Change
Model.” PS: Political Science & Politics 41(4): 691-695. Online at:
http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/PSOct08Abramowitz.pdf.
Caplan, B (2007) The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies
(HD87 Cap)
Cicero, Quintus Tullius (and James Carville) (2012) ‘Campaign Tips From Cicero: The Art of
Politics, From the Tiber to the Potomac’ Foreign Affairs, May/June 2012 (e-journal)
Drew, E. (2012) ‘Can We Have a Democratic Election?’ New York Review of Books, February
23. www.nybooks.com/
Fiorina, M. (1981) Retrospective voting in American national elections JK1967 Fio
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 3
Lopez, M. (2009) ‘Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most diverse in US history.’ Pew Hispanic
Center Report, available online at
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=108
McGinnis, J. 1970 The Selling of the President E851 Macg.
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch6
Mayer, W. G. (2010), ‘Retrospective Voting in Presidential Primaries’. Presidential Studies
Quarterly, vol 40: 660–685
Nelson, M. (2009) The Elections of 2008. Washington DC: CQ Press JK1968 2008 Ele.
Nelson, C. (2000) Campaign Warriors: The Role of Political Consultants in Elections
JK2281Cam.
Polsby, N. and Wildavsky, A (2000) Presidential Elections (earlier edition also OK)
Popkin, Samuel L. 2012. The Candidate: What it Takes to Win – and Hold – the White House
(on order)
Popkin, S. (1991) Reasoning voter : communication and persuasion in presidential campaigns
JK 525 Pop
Sides, J. (2006) ‘Electoral Politics’ in Developments in American Politics 5, ch 2
Sides, J. and Vavreck, L. (2012) The Gamble. Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential
Election. Chapters available at: http://press.princeton.edu/blog/2012/08/24/free-echapters-available-from-the-gamble-by-john-sides-and-lynn-vavreck/
Smith, R. (2008) The American Anomaly. US Politics and Government in Comparative
Perspective (JK 275 Smi), ch 8
Tomasky, M. (2012) ‘How to Follow Our Weird Politics’ (review of Popkin; critique of
forecasting) New York Review of Books, May 10. Available here:
www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/may/10/how-follow-our-weird-politics/
14
US Government. Department of State (2012) USA Elections in Brief 04 January . Available at:
photos.state.gov/
Wayne, S (2004) Road to the White House JK528 Way
Wayne, S. (2012) Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election? 4th ed. (earlier editions in
library)
Competing approaches (for essay)


Abramowitz, A. 2008. “Forecasting the 2008 Presidential Election with the Time-forChange Model.” PS: Political Science & Politics 41(4): 691-695. Online at:
http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/PSOct08Abramowitz.pdf.
Fiorina, M. (1981) Retrospective voting in American national elections JK1967 Fio

Mayer, W. G. (2010), ‘Retrospective Voting in Presidential Primaries’. Presidential
Studies Quarterly, vol 40: 660–685


McGinnis, J. 1970 The Selling of the President E851 Macg.
Popkin, S. (1991) Reasoning voter : communication and persuasion in presidential
campaigns JK 525 Pop
Sides, J. and Vavreck, L. The Gamble, chapt 1 (The hand you’re dealt) Available here:
http://thegamble2012.com/The_Gamble/The_Gamble_2012.html


nb: Exceprts of several of the classic pieces are also available in Kernell, S and Smith, S
(eds.) (2000) Principles and Practice of American Politics or Shafritz, J. and Wienberg,
L (2000) Classics in American Government (both available in the HUB)
2012 Election, key issues
Cook, R. (2012) ‘Voter Turnout: Heading Downward in 2012?’ Sabato's Crystal Ball, June 21
www.centerforpolitics.org/
Council on Foreign Relations (2012) ‘The Candidates on the Economy’, February 28.
www.cfr.org/us-election-2012/candidates-economy/p26829
Frey, W. (2012) ‘Why Minorities Will Decide the 2012 U.S. Election’ The Brookings Institution,
May http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2012/0501_race_election_frey.aspx
Gallup Oranization (2012) ‘Election 2012’ http://www.gallup.com/poll/election.aspx
Hurlburt, H. (2012) ‘Leadership, Belonging, and National Security in the 2012 Presidential
Race’ Society vol 49(5) 430-32
Perry, G. 2012 ‘The Economy and the Election’ Brookings Institution, February 27.
www.brookings.edu/
WEEK 7 (30 Oct) ELECTION DISCUSSION: CAMPAIGN SPENDING
AND STRATEGY
Gulati, G. (2012) ‘Super PACs and Financing the 2012 Presidential Election’ Society vol 49:
409-17
Heilemann, J. (2012) ‘Hope: The Sequel’ New York Magazine, May 27. Available at:
nymag.com/news/features/barack-obama-2012-6/
Kammer, A. 2012 ‘Super facts about super pacs’ American Prospect 31 Jan Available at:
http://prospect.org/article/super-facts-about-super-pacs#.Tyra0a8a9lg.email
Newport, F. (2012) ‘Obama Remains Women's Presidential Pick; Romney, Men's’ (Gallup poll)
http://www.gallup.com/poll/156848/obama-remains-women-presidential-pickromney-men.aspx
15
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2007) ‘Religion in Campaign 2008’
(primaries) September 6 . Available at: people-press.org/reports/pdf/353.pdf
Rothenberg, S. (2012) ‘How Citizens United Is Affecting Campaigns’ Roll Call, May 22.
www.rollcall.com/
Sabato, L . 2012 ‘Plan of Attack: Obama, Romney and the Electoral College’ Sabato's Crystal
Ball (useful overview) http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/plan-ofattack-obama-romney-and-the-electoral-college/
Sides, J, Shaw, D. Grossman, M. and Lipsitz, K. (2012). Campaigns and Elections: Rules,
Reality, Strategy, Choice. Chapter 4 (financing campaigns, available at:
http://media.wwnorton.com/cms/excerpts/Campaigns_Ch04.pdf
Sides, J. 2011. “The Moneyball of Campaign Advertising (Parts 1 and 2).” FiveThirtyEight, The
New York Times. Online at: http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/themoneyball-of-campaign-advertising-part-1/
Sides, J. http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/the-moneyball-of-campaignadvertising-part-2/
Toobin, J. (2012) Money Unlimited: How Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrated the Citizens
United decision The New Yorker, May 21, www.newyorker.com/
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 7 (30/31 OCT)
GROUP PRESENTATIONS, PART 1
WEEK 8 (6 Nov Oct) ELECTION DISCUSSION: MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Boykoff, J., & Laschever, E. (2011). The Tea Party Movement, Framing, and the US
Media. Social Movement Studies,10(4), 341-366 (e-journal)
Campaigns and Elections Magazine (2012) ‘Cementing social media's place in the campaign
world’ 7 September http://www.campaignsandelections.com/magazine/usedition/327317/cementing-social-mediaand39s-place-in-the-campaign-world.thtml
Geer, J. (2012) ‘The News Media and the Rise of Negativity in Presidential Campaigns PS:
Political Science & Politics July 2012 journals.cambridge.org/
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 7
Pew Research Center (2008) ‘The Color of News.’ Pew Research Centre’s Project for Excellence
in Journalism, 29 October 2008. Available at http://www.journalism.org/node/13436
[on partisan coverage of the election]
Rich, F (2012) ‘Nuke ’Em’ (on negative advertising) New York Magazine, Jun 17.
nymag.com/news/frank-rich/negative-campaigning-2012-6/
Smith, A. (2009) ‘The Internet’s Role in Campaign 2008’ Pew Research Center for the People &
the Press, 15 April: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1192/internet-politics-campaign-2008
Towner, T. and Dulio, D. (2011) ‘An experiment of campaign effects during the YouTube
election’ New Media & Society vol13 (4) , p626-p644,
See also media outlets listed in Appendix 3;
See also candidate’s websites: http://www.barackobama.com/ and
http://www.mittromney.com/
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 8 (6/7 NOV)
GROUP PRESENTATIONS, PART 2
WEEK 9 (13 Nov) DOMESTIC POLICY AND POLITICS (EB)
16
Textbooks
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch17-19
Singh, R. (2003) Governing America, Part III
Vile, MJC (2007) Politics in the USA , ch 11
Beyond Texts
Balla, S , et al (2002) ‘Partisanship, Blame Avoidance, and the Distribution of Legislative Pork’
American Journal of Political Science vol 46(1): 515-25) (JSTOR)
Baumgartner and Jones, 2009. Agenda and Instability in American Politics, 2nd ed.
Caplan, B (2007) The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies
(HD87 Cap)
Hochschild, J. (2011) ‘Winner-Take-All Politics : A Review Essay’ Political Science Quarterly
vol 126(2) 315-21
Jacobs, L and King, D (eds.) (2009) The Unsustainable American State.
John, P., Smith, G and Stoker, G. (2009) ‘Nudge Nudge, Think Think: Two Strategies for
Changing Civic Behaviour’ Political Quarterly vol 80(3) (e-journal)
Johnson, C (2003) (for the Library of Congress) How Our Laws are Made: pdf file at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
Lizza, R. (2012) ‘The Second Term’ The New Yorker, June 18. Available here:
www.newyorker.com/
*Peters, B.G. (2010) American Public Policy. Promise and Performance, 8th ed. (earlier
editions also helpful) JK271 Pet
Thaler, R and Sunstein, C (2009) Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and
Happiness (HB74.P8 Tha) (r)
U.S. Census Bureau (2008) ‘Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United
States: 2007’ Available at: www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf
Readings on Specific Policy Areas
economic
Capretta, J (2009) ‘The New Middle Class Contract’ National Affairs, Fall 2009
www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-new-middle-class-contract
Congressional Research Service (2009) Economic Stimulus: Issues and Policies R40104,
fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/134268.pdf
Ehrenreich, B (2002) Nickel and Dimed: Undercover in Low Wage USA HD4918 Her
Haskins, R et al (2008) Economic Mobility in America Brookings Institution, Available at:
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2008/02_economic_mobility_saw
hill/02_economic_mobility_sawhill.pdf
Mackenzie, G. (2010) ‘The American Economy in Crisis’ in Peele, et al Developments in
American Politics 6
Peters, B G (2010) ‘Economic Policy’ in Peters, American Public Policy. Promise and
Performance, 8th ed. JK271 Pet (chapter 9)
environmental/climate change
Bailey, C. (2010) ‘Environmental Policy’ in Peele, et al Developments in American Politics 6
Bomberg, E. and Schlosberg, D. (2008) ‘US Environmentalism in comparative perspective’
Environmental Politics, vol. 17(2) April, pp337–348 (e-journal)
Bomberg, E and Super, B (2009)'The 2008 US presidential election: Obama and the
environment' Environmental Politics,18(3): 424 — 430 (e-journal)
Carter, N. (2007) The Politics of the Environment, 2nd ed.
Fletcher, A (2009) Clearing the air: the contribution of frame analysis to understanding climate
policy in the US’ Environmental Politics vol 18(5) : 800-16 (e-journal)
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society ch 19
17
Peters, B G (2010) ‘Environmental and Energy Policy’ in Peters, American Public Policy.
Promise and Performance, 8th ed. JK271 Pet (chapter 14)
Rabe, B (2010) ‘The Climate of Belief: American Public Opinion on Climate Change’ Issues in
Governance Studies, no 31. Brookings Institution. Available at:
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2010/01_climate_rabe_borick.aspx
Rabe, B (2008) ‘States on Steroids: The Intergovernmental Odyssey of American Climate
Policy’ Review of Policy Research vol 25(2) 105-28 Available at:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1541-1338.2007.00314.x/full
health/social
Bai, M (2009) ‘Taking the Hill’ (Obama, health care and Congress) New York Times, 2 June.
www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/magazine/07congress-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine
Dreier, P. (2010) ‘Lessons from the Health-Care Wars’ The American Prospect, 5 April
www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=lessons_from_the_health_care_wars
Drew, E (2010) ‘Is There Life in Health Care Reform?’ New York Review of Books, March 11, 2010
www.nybooks.com/articles/23691
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch17
Peters, B. G. (2010) ‘American Social Policy: the Possibilities for Reform’ in Peele, et al
Developments in American Politics 6
Skocpol, T. (1997) Boomerang: Health Care Reform and the Turn Against Government
Walters, J. (2008) ‘Is Welfare Working?’ Governing, February 2008, At:
www.governing.com/articles/0802welfare.htm
immigration
Bruno, A (2010) ‘Unauthorized Aliens in the United States’ Congressional Research Service
Report R41207, April. Available at: fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/141570.pdf
Hollifield, J. (2010) ‘Nation of Nations: US Immigration Policy and Politics ’ in Peele, et al
Developments in American Politics 6
Kotkin, J (2010) ‘Growing America: Demographics and Destiny’ Governing, May
www.governing.com/topics/economic-dev/Growing-America-Demographicsand.html
Tichenor, D. (2002). Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in America
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 8 (9/10 NOV)
How are liberty and/or equality manifest in domestic policy?
WEEK 10 (23 Nov) DOMESTIC SOURCES OF FOREIGN POLICY (EB)
Textbooks
Katz, R. (2007) Political Institutions in the US, ch 9
McKay, D. (2009) American Politics and Society, ch 20
Beyond Texts
Ashbee, E and Wadden, A. (2010) ‘The Obama Administration and United States Trade Policy’
Political Quarterly vol 81(2): 253–262 (e-journal)
*Allison, G T. and Zelikow, P (1999) Essence of Decision Making
Beinert, P (2010) ‘The Beautiful Lie of American Omnipotence’ National Journal, 3 July
(Available: http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/2010/RAND_RGSD266.pdf>
Brzezinski, Z (2012) (interviewed by Robert W. Merry)’ U.S. Fate Is in U.S. Hands’ National
Interest Sept-Oct http://nationalinterest.org/article/interview-us-fate-us-hands-7339
Busby, J and Jonathan, M. (2012) Republican Elites and Foreign Policy Attitudes Political
Science Quarterly vol 127 (1), p105-12.
18
Busby, J and Monten, J and Inboden, W. (2012) ‘American Foreign Policy is Already PostPartisan: Why Politics Does Stop at the Water's Edge’ Foreign Affairs, May 30, 2012
Crabb, C. et al (2000) Congress and the Foreign Policy Process JK585 Cra
DeSombre, E (2001) Domestic Sources of International Environmental Policy
Durham, M (2008) ‘The American Right and Iran’ Political Quarterly vol 79(4) (e-journal)
Gelb, L. (2012) ‘The Elusive Obama Doctrine National Interest Sept-Oct.
http://nationalinterest.org/
*Jervis, R (2010) ‘Why Intelligence and Policymakers Clash’ Political Science Quarterly, vol
125(2)http://www.psqonline.org/99_article.php3?byear=2010&bmonth=summer&a=01free
*Kegley, C. and Wittkopf, E. (2004) Domestic Sources of American Foreign Policy E 840 Dom.
1Lieberman, R. (2009a) ‘The “Israel Lobby” and American Politics’ Perspectives on Politics
Vol. 7(2) June: 235-257 (e journal)
Lieberman, R. (2009b) ‘Rejoinder to Mearsheimer and Walt’ Perspectives on Politics Vol. 7(2)
June: 275-281 (e journal)
Lynch, T. (2010)’ American Foreign Policy in the 2010s’ in Peele, et al Developments in
American Politics 6
Mead, W R (2006) ‘God’s Country?’ Evangelicals and Foreign Policy’ Foreign Affairs, Sep/Oct,
Vol. 85(5):24-43 (e-journal)
Mearsheimer, J. and S. Walt (2009) ‘The Blind Man and the Elephant in the Room: Robert
Lieberman and the Israel Lobby’ Perspectives on Politics Vol. 7(2) June: 259-273
*Miroff, B., et al (2005) Debating Democracy, ch 18 JK1726 Deb.
Newman, B. and Lammert, K. (2011), ‘Divided Government and Foreign Relations Approval.’
Presidential Studies Quarterly, 41: 375–392
Newhouse, J. (2009) Diplomacy, Inc (foreign interests lobbying Wash DC) Foreign Affairs vol
8(3) May/Je 2009 (e)
Peterson, J. and Pollack, M. (2003) Europe, America, Bush (D 1065.US Eur) (esp. chapters 1,2,
9,10)
US Department of Defense (2008) National Defense Strategy. Available at:
www.defenselink.mil/pubs/2008NationalDefenseStrategy.pdf
Walt, S. (2011) The Myth of American Exceptionalism’ Foreign Policy, November
TUTORIAL TOPIC FOR WEEK 10 (23/24 NOV)
Other than the President,
which domestic actor is most important in shaping US foreign policy?
WEEK 11. (27 Nov) EXAM REVIEW (no tutorials)
Published as exchange between Lieberman and Mearsheimer and Walt; best if read in sequence: Lieberman
(2009a), Mearsheimer and Walt (2009), Lieberman (2009b)
1
19
APPENDIX 1: US GOVERNMENT COURSEWORK ESSAY
(worth 35% of course mark)
** Two hard copies and one electronic copy of your essay are due
Fri 23 Nov 2012, 12 noon. **
This essay assignment will allow you to apply a scholarly model, theory or framework to one
of the phenomenon we’ll be studying in this course. You will be assessed on your grasp of the
model and your ability to apply it. A good essay will engage with secondary and primary
literature. Draw on secondary analysis, but also use primary sources such as electoral data,
public opinion polling data, presidential speeches or campaign material.
LENGTH: The report should be between 3000 and 3500 words, with a maximum length of
3500 words, including end/footnotes but excluding the bibliography. Please provide a word
count on your cover sheet, and note that Reports longer than 3500 words will be penalised.
Note 3500 is a maximum length; there is no ‘grace margin’.
ESSAY QUESTIONS (choose 1)
1. Does Parker and Davidson’s 1979 analysis still offer a compelling explanation for public
attitudes and perceptions of US Congress? Answer with reference to the 112th Congress
(alone or compared to an earlier Congress)
Parker, G R., and Davidson, R. (1979). ‘Why Do American Love Their Congressmen
so Much More than Their Congress?’ Legislative Studies Quarterly 4 (1):53-61.
2. Pick any two presidential studies frameworks below and compare how well they help us
understand Obama’s ‘effectiveness’ in office:
Neustadt’s Presidential Power framework; Moe’s rational choice models; Wildavsky’s
‘Two presidencies’ model; Kernell’s Going Public thesis (see course guide, week 4
readings, for full citations)
Nb: if you’d like to apply another model you must approve it with Bomberg before 7 Nov 2012
3. Pick one of the frameworks below and apply it to two Administrations (Obama’s and one
other) . How well does it help you compare and understand presidential performance?
Neustadt’s Presidential Power framework; Moe’s rational choice models; Wildavsky’s
‘Two presidencies’ model; Kernell’s Going Public thesis (see course guide, week 4
readings, for full citations)
4. Apply EITHER Popkin’s ‘Reasoning Voter’ or Fiorina’s ‘Retrospective Voter’ model to the
2012 election. How incisive an account does your chosen model offer of campaign strategies
and outcomes?
 Popkin, S (1991) The Reasoning Voter : Communication and Persuasion in
Presidential Campaigns JK 525 Pop (also excerpted in Kernell and Smith);
 Fiorina, M. (1981) Retrospective Voting in American National Elections (JK1967
Fio) or Fiorina , M. (1978) ‘Economic Retrospective Voting in American National
Elections: A Micro-Analysis. ‘ American Journal of Political Science, vol. 22
(2):426-44.
20
5. Are you convinced by the forecasting models of Abramowitz, Sides or others? Assess their
usefulness in helping us understand the 2012 presidential election campaign and outcome.
 Abramowitz, A. 2008. “Forecasting the 2008 Presidential Election with the Time-forChange Model.” PS: Political Science & Politics 41(4): 691-695. Online at:
http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/PSOct08Abramowitz.pdf.
 Sides, J. and Vavreck, L. (2012) The Gamble. Choice and Chance in the 2012
Presidential Election. Chapter 1: available at:
http://press.princeton.edu/blog/2012/08/24/free-e-chapters-available-from-the-gamble-by-johnsides-and-lynn-vavreck/
6. Is Joe McGinniss’ analysis of campaign strategies still relevant today? Test his arguments
by applying his framework to the 2012 presidential election.
McGinnis, 1970 Selling of the President (any edition)
(also excerpted in Shafritz and Weinberg 2000)
Please see the Politics or IR Honours Handbook for further information on
submission of coursework; Late Penalty Waivers; plagiarism; learning disabilities,
special circumstances; common marking descriptors, re-marking procedures and
appeals.
IR handbook:
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/word_doc/0005/90347/IR_Honours_Handboo
k_1213.doc
Politics handbook:
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/word_doc/0004/90346/Politics_Honours_Han
dbook_1213.doc
21
APPENDIX 2: GUIDE TO REFERENCING
The fundamental purpose of proper referencing is to provide the reader with a clear idea of where you obtained your
information, quote, idea, etc. NOTE: You will lose points for sloppy or inadequate referencing. We recommend
the Harvard-style (or ‘in text’) system which is simple to use. Here’s how it works:
1. After you have quoted from or referred to a particular text in your essay, add in parentheses the author's name, the
year of publication and page numbers (if relevant). Place the full reference in your bibliography. Here is an
example of a quoted passage and its proper citation:
Quotation in essay:
‘Quite simply, political theory and political practice are inseparably linked.’ (Heywood 1998: 3).
Book entry in bibliography:
Heywood, A. (1998) Political Ideologies: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Macmillan
Note the sequence: author, year of publication, title, edition if needed, place of publication, publisher. Note also that
you should not italicise quotations.
2. If you are employing someone else’s arguments, ideas or categorisation, you will need to cite them even if you are
not using a direct quote. One simple way to do so is as follows:
Gallagher (1997: 129) argues that future European Parliament elections are unlikely to generate more interest than
past ones.
3. Your sources may well include journal or newspaper articles, book chapters, and internet sites. Below we show
you how to cite these various sources:
Chapters in book:

In your essay, cite the author as above, i.e. (Gallagher 1997).

In your bibliography details should be arranged in this sequence: author of chapter, year of publication,
chapter title, title of book, editor(s) of book, place of publication, publisher, article or chapter pages.

For example:

Gallagher, M. (1997) ‘Electoral Systems and Voting Behaviour’ in Developments in West European Politics, M.
Rhodes, P. Heywood and V. Wright (eds), Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp 114-130.
Journal Article:

In your essay, cite as above (Doherty 2007)

In your bibliography, details should be arranged in this sequence: author of journal article, year of
publication, article title, journal title, journal volume, journal issue, article pages

example:

Doherty, B. (2007) ‘Friends of the Earth International: Negotiating a Transnational Identity’ Environmental
Politics vol 15(5), pp. 860-80
Newspaper or magazine article:

If the article has an author, cite as normal in text (Ascherson 1992).

In bibliography cite as follows:

Ascherson, N (1992) ‘The New Europe’ The Independent on Sunday Magazine 9 February, pp 31-4.

If the article has no author, cite name of newspaper in text (Economist, 2007) and list the source in
bibliography by magazine or newspaper title.

For example:

Economist (2007) ‘America in the Middle East: arming its friends and talking peace’ 4 Aug 2007, p 38.
Internet sites:

If the site has an author cite in text as normal: i.e. (Álvarez-Rivera, 2007)

In the bibliography, provide a full reference which should include author, date, title of website and URL
address:

For example:

Álvarez-Rivera, M (2007) ‘Election Resources on the Internet’ Available at: http://ElectionResources.org/

If the website has no author, cite the short address of the site in your text (http://europa.eu)

In the bibliography, provide a full reference including title of website, URL address, publisher or owner of
site

For example: ‘The European Union’s Institutions’ (http://europa.eu/index_en.htm) The European Union’s
official portal site. (If no date is available, indicate date you accessed the site)
4. If you prefer to use footnote citations, please follow the format used in reputable journals such as West European
Politics. These journals include (usually on the back cover) a brief guide to referencing. If you have any
questions about referencing you can check with your tutor.
22
APPENDIX 3: SELECTED WEBSITES ON US GOVT
Here is a far from exhaustive list of websites relevant to US Government. We’ve checked them recently
but note that website addresses can change rapidly: you may have to search the Web by keywords to
locate a particular site.
CONSTITUTIONAL BLUEPRINT
 Charters of Freedom (view American founding documents; good graphics and overview)
www.archives.gov
 Constitution page with interesting links, set up by students www.usconstitution.net/
 Constitution of the US: Analysis and Interpretation
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index.html
 Government Publication’s Constitution site: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/about.html
 National Conferences of State legislatures: www.ncsl.org/statefed/afipolcy.htm
CONGRESS
 House of Representatives www.house.gov
 Senate www.senate.gov
 US Congress service (congressional record, texts, floor debates, etc. http://thomas.loc.gov/
 Project Vote Smart : http://www.vote-smart.org
 Washington Post (their news coverage of Congress is most extensive) www.washingtonpost.com/
PRESIDENCY/EXECUTIVE BRANCH
 American Experience: Presidents (an interactive site with biographies and more)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/indexjs.html
 White House (official site; links to other branches too)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html
 Fedworld (central access point for federal government info on line) www.fedworld.gov/
 Federal statistics and data www.fedstats.gov/
JUDICIARY (see also civil rights and liberties groups, below)
 Dept of Justice (Govt website of press releases, cases pending, general information):
www.usdoj.gov/crt/
 Find Law (legal headlines): http://www.findlaw.com/
 SCOTUS blog (on Supreme Court happenings) http://www.scotusblog.com/
POLITICAL PARTIES
 Democratic National Committee www.democrats.org/
 Republican National Committee www.rnc.org
 National Political Index (info on minor parties, but also on accessing govt officials, tracking
legislation, etc) www.politicalindex.com/
INTEREST GROUPS (sample of some well known groups)
 American Civil Liberties Union www.aclu.org
 AFL-CIO (labor unions) www.aflcio.org/
 American Association of Retired Persons www.aarp.org/
 Christian coalition http://www.cc.org/
 FreedomWorks http://www.freedomworks.org/ (major donor organization involved in tea party
movement)
 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People www.naacp.org
 National Immigration Forum http://www.immigrationforum.org/
 National Organization for Women www.now.org
 National Rifle Association www.nra.org/
 Sierra Club (an environmental group) www.sierraclub.org/
 Tea Party Patriots http://teapartypatriots.ning.com/
 US Chamber of Commerce www.uschamber.org/
23
VOTING AND ELECTIONS (including blogs and pundits)
 538 (Nate Silver’s ‘election calculus’ forecast blog on NY Times) http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/
 Campaign and Election – http://www.campaignsandelections.com/ (monthly magazine covering
campaign trends)
 Congressional Quarterly’s coverage: http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=6
 Cook Political Report – a well respected pundit shares his analysis: http://www.cookpolitical.com/
 Huffington Post election coverage: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/election-2012-blog/
 Larry J Sabato’s Crystal Ball http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball
 Monkeycage. – well informed blog for election junkies: themonkeycage.org/
 National Journal’s election tracker: http://www.nationaljournal.com/campaigns/
 NY Times’ election coverage: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/index.html
 Open Secrets: features data on campaign spending: http://www.opensecrets.org/
 Project Vote Smart : http://www.vote-smart.org (for tracking legislation)
 Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Election site: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008/
 Real Clear Politics – reliable scoops on elections http://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/
 University of Michigan, electoral maps of past elections, and more:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/

Washington Post, campaign coverage http://voices.washingtonpost.com/politics/campaigns.html
DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICY
 State Department and foreign policy information www.state.gov/
 Brookings Institution: independent think tank: www.brookings.org
 Cato Institute: Free-market/libertarian think tank: www.cato.org
 Centre for Comparative Immigration Studies http://ccis.ucsd.edu/category/working-papers/
 Forum: Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics http://www.bepress.com/forum/
 Heritage Foundation (conservative think tank; domestic and foreign policy) www.heritage.org/
 Progressive Policy Institute/ Democratic Leadership Council: left of centre think tank covering
domestic and foreign policy) www.dlcppi.org/
 Public Agenda: www.publicagenda.org provides a non partisan, informative overview and
analyses of topical issues, public opinion and views
MEDIA, NEWS AND POLLS
 Gallup Organization: http://www.gallup.com/
 CNN Interaction www.cnn.com
 Fox News – key organ of the right: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/index.html
 National Political Index (info on public access to govt officials, tracking legislation, etc)
www.politicalindex.com/
 New York Times on the Web www.nytimes.com (offers free daily email news bulletin)
 PBS Online (PBS is the US public station) www.pbs.org
 Pew Research Center for People and the Press (http://people-press.org/) (very useful analyses of
current trends)
 Washington Post on the Web www.washingtonpost.com (free daily email news bulletin)
 Polling Report: www. PollingReport.com (clearinghouse of major polls)
 Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/public/us
News Punditry and Blogs

ABC's The Note - slightly right of centre blog from the ABC network’s political gurus.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238&page=1

Daily Kos –Popular leftie blog http://www.dailykos.com/

Democratic Strategist: Dem-leaning journal on public opinion and political strategy:
http://www.thedemocraticstrategist.org/

Drudge report: well known ‘revealer’ of political scandal http://www.drudgereport.com/

Washington Monthly’s Political Animal - insider critical look at the WashDC
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
24



New Majority blog aiming at ‘renewal of the Republican party and the conservative
movement’: http://www.newmajority.com/
Slate - another well known political weblog with provocative essays on politics and culture,
and round up of news. http://slate.msn.com/
Talking Points Memo – another popular left of centre blog
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
JUST FOR FUN…

The Onion: excellent spoof news http://www.theonion.com/

Capitol Steps – group of former Senate staffers who satirise national politics through song:
http://www.capsteps.com/
POINTS TO REMEMBER ABOUT INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET
 Citation: always give the author’s name and date of publication (if known). At the very least
provide the full URL (internet address) and date accessed;
 Plagiarism from internet resources attracts the same penalties as plagiarism from published material;
 Much commentary on the web has not had the benefit of critical review as is required of material
appearing in most journals and texts.
Remember to check Learn for regular updates and further links.
Please share with us any other sites you find particularly useful.
25
APPENDIX 4
US GOVERNMENT: TUTORIAL ARRANGEMENTS
TUTORIAL TIMES
Time
Tuesday 2-2:50pm
Tuesday 4:10-5.00pm
Wednesday 10:00-10:50am
Wednesday 11:10-12:00
Wednesday 12:10-1:00pm
Thursday 4:10-5pm
Place
Appleton Tower, M3
Appleton Tower, M3
Appleton Tower, M3
Appleton Tower, M3
Appleton Tower, M3
DHT Room 9.14
Tutor
E Bomberg
E Bomberg
T Olsen
T Olsen
T Olsen
E Bomberg
PURPOSE
A weekly 50-minute tutorial is designed to give you an opportunity to discuss the readings, share your
ideas and try out arguments with other students. Their usefulness is directly proportional to your
willingness to prepare and participate actively.
FORMAT
Tutorials will adopt a mixed format including:

debates and small group discussion

brief student presentations and open discussion

small group project
EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
Participation in tutorials is monitored and assessed (see below). Failure to attend regularly will lower
the student’s mark.
Expectations:
1. Everyone comes prepared to participate; everyone gets a chance to contribute.
2. Tutorial hand-ins. You are expected to read on assigned topics even if you are not presenting. Please
bring one side of an A4 sheet (no more) which includes:

key findings from your reading related to tutorial topic (bullet points are fine);

a list of sources (these must include readings beyond the textbooks)
3. Some students will be able to make a very short presentation to get discussion going. The
presentations should be brief (5-10 minutes maximum) and are intended to serve as the base for
subsequent discussion. You therefore needn’t cover all relevant points. Rather, distil for us a few key
arguments and present them clearly.
4. Learn: students will use Learn for several tutorial functions. Each group will have its own discussion
page on which they can post follow-up questions, further reading, presentations, tips and
announcements.
TUTORIAL ASSESSMENT
Tutorial assessment will be worth 10% of your course mark. The tutorial mark will be based on your
group work and overall individual tutorial performance.
The most successful formula for earning a high tutorial mark is consistent high-quality performance
throughout the course (rather than one stunning presentation but poor performance the other weeks).
The quality rather than quantity of your contributions will be monitored. It’s not a race to see who can
say the most. Rather, students will be rewarded for their capacity to make relevant points, bring in the
readings where appropriate, listen to and engage with others.
26
Feedback will be provided on your performance. In week 7 your tutor will provide you with a brief
progress report which, whilst not binding, will give you an idea of how you’re doing and why. In
addition, any student is welcome to come speak to Elizabeth or Trent about their performance during
office hours or by appointment during term.
TUTORIAL SCHEDULE
[Consult the weekly reading list for relevant readings]
Week 1 (18/19 Sept) INTRODUCTION
(required attendance)
Week 2 (25/26 Sept) US CONSTITUTION, RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
Is there such a thing as an ‘American ideology’?
Week 3 (2/3 Oct) SUPREME COURT AND CONGRESS
Working in groups of 3, choose a congressional race and come prepared to report ( 8-10 minutes only!)
on its key dynamics. Focus particularly on to what extent ‘American values’ are invoked in the
campaign
Week 4. (9/10 Oct) PRESIDENCY
What are the key factors shaping presidential performance?
Week 5. (16/17 Oct) PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS
How polarized has the US become? Answer with reference to either parties or interest groups.
Week 6. (23/24 Oct) GROUP PRESENTATIONS: ELECTION PROJECT
Working in small groups you will be asked to track and analyse a selected key factors (issue, actor or
dynamic) shaping the presidential election campaign and outcome. A separate handout will be provided
in week 3.
Week 7 (30/31 Oct) GROUP PRESENTATIONS: ELECTION PROJECT (cont)
Further project presentation (see week 6)
Mid term evaluation of tutorial participation
Week 8. (6/7 Nov) ELECTION POST-MORTEM
How might we explain the outcomes of election? Whose interests were best served?
Essay preparation help
Week 9. (16/17 Nov) DOMESTIC POLICIES
Work in pairs and choose an area of domestic policy: how are liberty and/or equality manifest in that
policy?
Week 10. (23/24 Nov): DOMESTIC SOURCES OF FOREIGN POLICY
Other than the President, which domestic actor is most important in shaping US foreign policy?
Week 11 (30 Nov/1 Dec): NO TUTORIALS
EB/BS Sept 12
27
US GOVERNMENT: OVERVIEW OF TOPICS AND ACTIVITIES
WK
1
DATE
18 Sept
LECTURE TOPIC
Introduction: concepts and
culture
TUTORIAL ACTIVITY
Introductory tutorial- introductions,
expectations and requirements
2
25 Sept
Constitution, rights and
liberties
Is there such a thing as an ‘American
ideology’?
3
2 Oct
Courts and Congress
Report on congressional races (theme: which
values evoked in campaign?)
4
9 Oct
Presidency
What are the key factors shaping effective
presidential performance?
5
16 Oct
Parties and Interest Groups
How polarized has the US become?
6
23 Oct
Group project: presentations in tutorial
7
30 Oct
8
6 Nov
9
13 Nov
10
20 Nov
Voting and elections:
approaches
Lecturette /
Class Discussion
Money, campaign strategy
Lecturette /
Class Discussion
Media
Government Output: Domestic
Policies
Domestic Sources of Foreign
Policy
Essay due Fri 23 Nov 2012
11
27 Nov
Exam review
No tutorials
Exam diet: 10-21 December 2012
Group project: presentations in tutorial
Mid term evaluation
Election post mortem (whose interests are
represented?) Essay guidance
How are liberty and/or equality manifest in
domestic policy?
Other than the president, who is the most
important domestic player in foreign policy?
Essay due Fri 23 Nov 2012