17.202 | Spring 2010 | Graduate

Graduate Seminar in American Politics II

Readings

The following are required texts for the course:

Cox, Gary W., and Mathew D. McCubbins. Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521694094.

Krehbiel, Keith. Pivotal Politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998, chapters 1-6, 8. ISBN: 9780226452715.

Mayhew, David R. Congress: The Electoral Connection. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780300105872.

Poole, Keith T., and Howard Rosenthal. Ideology and Congress. 2nd revised ed. Edison, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2007. ISBN: 9781412806084.

Neustadt, Richard. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan. New York, NY: Free Press, 1991, chapters 1-8. ISBN: 9780029227961.

Skowronek, Stephen. The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997, pp. 3-58 and 287-446, skim the rest of part II. ISBN: 9780674689374.

Kernell, Sam. Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership. 4th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2007, chapter 1-6. ISBN: 9781568028996.

Cameron, Charles M. Veto Bargaining and the Politics of Negative Power. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press , 2000, chapters 1, 3, 5, and 6. ISBN: 9780521625500.

Rosenberg, Gerald. The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? Chicago. IL: University of Chicago Press, 2008, chapter 1, part I. ISBN: 9780226726717.

Segal, Jeffrey, and Harold J. Spaeth. The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2002, excerpts TBA. ISBN: 9780521783514.

Wilson, James Q. Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1991, chapters 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9. ISBN: 9780465007851.

Aldrich, John. Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1995, chapters 1-6. ISBN: 9780226012728.

Olson, Mancur. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971, chapters 1, 2, 5, and 6. ISBN: 9780674537514.

Schattschneider, Elmer E. The Semi-Sovereign People. Florence, KY: Wadsworth Publishing, 1975, chapters 1-2. ISBN: 9780030133664.

SES # TOPICS READINGS
1 Introduction No readings
2 Congress: Representation and institutionalization

Miller, Warren E., and Donald E. Stokes. “Constituency Influence in Congress.” American Political Science Review 57 (1963): 45-56.

Fenno, Richard F. “The House Appropriations Committee as a Political System: The Problem of Integration.” American Political Science Review 56, no. 2 (1962): 310-324.

Polsby, Nelson W. “The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives.” American Political Science Review 62 (1968): 144-68.

Mayhew, David R. Congress: The Electoral Connection. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780300105872.

Gerber, Elisabeth R. “Legislative Response to the Threat of Popular Initiatives.” American Journal of Political Science 40, no. 1 (1996): 99-128.

Carey, John M., Gary Moncrief, Richard G. Niemi, and Lynda W. Powell. “The Effects of Term Limits on State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 23, no. 2 (1998): 271-300.

3 Congress: Party, polarization, and ideology

Professor Stewart’s comments on the readings for Ses #3. (PDF)

Krehbiel, Keith. Pivotal Politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998, chapters 1-6, 8. ISBN: 9780226452715.

Cox, Gary W., and Mathew D. McCubbins. Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521694094.

Poole, Keith T., and Howard Rosenthal. Ideology and Congress. 2nd revised ed. Edison, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2007. ISBN: 9781412806084.

4 President I

Neustadt, Richard. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan. New York, NY: Free Press, 1991, chapters 1-8. ISBN: 9780029227961.

Moe, Terry M., and William G. Howell. “Unilateral Action and Presidential Power: A Theory.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 29, no. 4 (1999): 850-872. (PDF)

5 President II

Skowronek, Stephen. The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997, pp. 3-58 and 287-446, skim the rest of part II. ISBN: 9780674689374.

Kernell, Sam. Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership. 4th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2007, chapter 1-6. ISBN: 9781568028996.

Canes-Wrone, Brandice. “The President’s Legislative Influence from Public Appeals.” American Journal of Political Science 45, no. 2 (2001): 313-329.

Cameron, Charles M. Veto Bargaining and the Politics of Negative Power. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press , 2000, chapters 1, 3, 5, and 6. ISBN: 9780521625500.

6 Courts I: The Supreme Court as an institution

Dahl, Robert A. “Decision Making in a Democracy: The Supreme Court as a National Policy Maker.” Journal of Public Law 6 (1958): 279-95.

Casper, Jonathan. “The Supreme Court and National Policy Making.” American Political Science Review 68, no. 1 (1976): 973-988.

Rosenberg, Gerald. The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? Chicago. IL: University of Chicago Press, 2008, chapter 1, part I. ISBN: 9780226726717.

Whittington, Keith. “‘Interpose Your Friendly Hand’: Political Supports for the Exercise of Judicial Review by the United States Supreme Court.” American Political Science Review 99 (2005): 7583-596. (PDF)

7 Courts II: Judicial Behavior

Segal, Jeffrey, and Harold J. Spaeth. The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2002, excerpts TBA. ISBN: 9780521783514.

Segal, Jeffrey A. “Separation-of-Powers Games in the Positive Theory of Law and the Courts.” American Political Science Review 91, no 1. (1997): 28-44.

Segal, Jeffrey A., and Harold J. Spaeth. “The Influence of Stare Decisis on the Votes of United States Supreme Court Justices.” American Journal of Political Science 40, no. 4 (1996): 971-1003. (PDF)

Knight, Jack, and Lee Epstein. “The Norm of Stare Decisis.” American Journal of Political Science 40, no. 4. (1996): 1018-1035.

8 Bureaucracy

Wilson, James Q. Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1991, chapters 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9. ISBN: 9780465007851.

Niskanen, William. Bureaucracy and Representative Democracy. Chicago, IL: Aldine-Atherton, 1971, chapters 1, 7, 17 and 21.

Moe, Terry M. “Control and Feedback in Economic Regulation: The Case of the NLRB.” American Political Science Review 79, no 4 (1985): 1094-1116.

Allison, Graham T. “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis.” American Political Science Review 63, no 4 (1969): 689-718. (PDF - 1.6MB)

Mc Cubbins, Mathew, Roger Noll, and Barry Weingast. “Administrative Procedures as Instruments of Political Control.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 3, no. 2 (1987): 243-77.

Carpenter, Daniel. “The Evolution of National Bureaucracy in the United States.” In Institutions of American Democracy: The Executive Branch. Edited by Joel D. Aberbach and Mark A. Peterson. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006, chapter 2. ISBN: 9780195309157.

———. The Forging of Bureaucratic Autonomy: Reputations, Networks, and Policy Innovation in Executive Agencies, 1862-1928. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001, introduction, chapter 1, conclusion. ISBN: 9780691070100.

9 Political parties

Key, V. O. Southern Politics in State and Nation. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1984, chapter 3. ISBN: 9780870494352.

Aldrich, John. Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1995, chapters 1-6. ISBN: 9780226012728.

Gibson, James L., Cornelius P. Cotter, John F. Bibby, and Robert J. Huckshorn. “Whither the Local Parties?: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of the Strength of Party Organizations.American Journal of Political Science 29, no. 1 (1985): 139-160.

Hofstadter, Richard. The Idea of a Party System: The Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the United States, 1780-1840. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1970, chapter 1. ISBN: 9780520017542.

Bartels, Larry M. “Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952-1996.” American Journal of Political Science 44, no. 1 (2000): 35-50. (PDF)

10 Interest groups

Olson, Mancur. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971, chapters 1, 2, 5, and 6. ISBN: 9780674537514.

Schattschneider, Elmer E. The Semi-Sovereign People. Florence, KY: Wadsworth Publishing, 1975, chapters 1-2. ISBN: 9780030133664.

Campbell, Andrea L. “Self-Interest, Social Security, and the Distinctive Participation Patterns of Senior Citizens.” American Political Science Review 96, no 3 (2002): 565-74.

Walker, Jack L. “The Origin and Maintenance of Interest Groups in America.” American Political Science Review 77, no. 2 (1983): 390-406.

Lowery, David, and Virginia Gray. “The Population Ecology of Guggi Gulch, or the National Regulation of Interest Group Numbers in the American States.” American Journal of Political Science 39, no. 1 (1995): 1-29.

Hall, Richard, and Frank Wayman. “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees.” American Political Science Review 84, no. 3 (1990): 797-820.

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