Science Political 4310: Comparative State Politics
David J. Webber 205 Professional Bldg. 882-7931 E-mail: [e-mail] Homepage: web.missouri.edu/~webberd Winter 2007-08 Office Hours: T 1:30-2:30 and usually W 2:30-3:30 and almost anytime by appointment (e-mail me).
This course will examine policy-making and public policies in the American states. We will examine emerging policy issues and political institutions in the American states but will give special emphasis to Missouri---because that is the state in which we meet and many of us reside. The function, character, and public policy impact of the 50 American states are easy to misunderstand. For most domestic policies, the states are often in the drivers seat although media and public attention tends to focus on the national government that bought the car or suggested the model. Among the topics we will need to discuss this semester are: the role of the states in a federalist political system; differences among states political culture and political institutions; and key state policy issues (e.g. budget, education, and health). A political science approach to understanding state politics and policy is different than participant observation or journalism. Although Ive learned a great deal by engaging in each of those activities, the best political science goes beyond personal experience and current events to systematically describe, explain, and evaluate activities and behaviors relevant to state policy-making. Below is a traditional syllabus. Usually after a few weeks, I invite a discussion of an alternative form of organization that I call the policy task force model. If there is considerable agreement on a class project or topics, we may modify the syllabus in an appropriate way. Please spend some time on my website (web.missouri.edu/~WebberD) reviewing the information resources and student papers, especially the Red States, Blue States project under Class Links for examples of student papers Ive received in recent years. Required Book
Virginia Gray and Russell L. Hanson, editors, POLITICS IN THE AMERICAN STATES, 9th edition, CQ Press, 2008.
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Course Outline I. OVERVIEW OF STATE POLICY AND POLITICS Skim these two samples of previous class projects: -Red States, Blue States project of 2005 class (under Class Links on my website).
- Representation in American Legislatures" 2001 Class Project (a link on my website under Course Information.
Read: -Gray, The Socioeconomic and Political Context of States pp. 1-30 in Gray and Hanson. -Gov. Blunts (and other governors) State of the State speech on-line (www.stateline.org). -Attorney General Jay Nixon's response to Gov Blunt. Robertson, David (2004) Bellwether Politics in Missouri, THE FORUM (2004) vol 2 (a PDF in Course Documents on Blackboard).
Browse -Website of National Conference of State Legislatures (www.NCSL.org) -Website of stateline.org, esp "State of the States" reports (http://www.stateline.org/live/static/Publications)
II. THE STATES AND FEDERALISM Read: -Madison, Federalist Paper #39 (proposed constitution is republican and national vs. federal) Available at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpapers.html -Madison, Federalist Paper #45 (alleged dangers of federal constitution to states) -Madison, Federalist Paper #46 (influence of federal vs. state authority compared). -Hanson, Intergovernmental Relations, pp. 30-60 in Gray and Hanson. -Nathan, Richard Updating Theories of Federalism a paper presented at 2006 American Political Science Convention (a PDF uploaded as a course document on Blackboard). -Pickerill, William and Cornell W. Clayton, The Rehnquist Court and the Political Dynamics of Federalism PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICS, June 2004. (a PDF in Course Documents). III. STATE FISCAL POLICY (logically state constitutions (part IV below) should precede a specific policy, but I want to expose the class to numbers ASAP). -Lowry Fiscal Policy in the American States pp. 287-315 in Gray and Hanson. -Missouri State Budget (www.oa.state.mo.us/bp/budg2005) (see External Links) -Gov. Blunts Budget and Legislative Agenda (www.oa.mo.gov/bpbib2005) (External Links)
Browse state budget information from other states available from NASBO (National Association of State Budget Officiers): www.nasbo.org/ and contained in External Links on Blackboard.
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IV. STATE vs. U.S. CONSTITUTIONS
-Hammons, Christopher W. (1999) Was James Madison Wrong? Rethinking the American Preference for Short, Framework-Oriented Constitutions. American Political Science Review 93 (Dec 1999):837-49. (Available at www.jstor.org) -Skim, but become familiar with:
Missouri State Constitution available at http://www.moga.state.mo.us/homecon.asp
V. EDUCATION POLICY -Wong, The Politics of Education, pp. 350-380 in Gray and Hanson. VI. HEALTH AND SOCIAL POLICY Rom, Mark "State Health and Welfare Programs" pp. 316-349 in Gray and Hanson - Arceneaux, Kevin Direct Democracy and the Link between Public Opinion and State Abortion Policy. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, Winter2002, Vol. 2 Issue 4, (a PDF in Course Document on Blackboard) - Mooney, Christopher Z. The Decline of Federalism and the Rise of Morality-Policy Conflict in the United States PUBLIUS 30 (Winter 2000): 171-188 (a PDF in Course Document)
VII. STATE LEGISLATURES -Hamm and Moncrief, Legislative Politics in the States, pp. 154-191 in Gray and Hanson VIII. STATE EXECUTIVES -Beyle and Ferguson, The Governors pp. 192-228 in Gray and Hanson -Elling, Administering State Programs, pp. 261- 289 in Gray and Hanson. Become familiar with www.NGA.org IX. STATE COURTS -Hall State Courts: Politics and the Judicial Process, pp. 229-255 in Gray and Hanson.
A Note about Class Procedure I advocate active learning. I know people learn best when they are motivated, interested in the subject matter, and actively interact with other people interested in the topic. Reading, thinking, discussing, and writing are the principal activities of learning. My ideal class consists of about 15-20 well-read, highly motivated students who devote much of their semester to developing a deep understanding of state politics and policy. They would pose questions to which I dont immediately know the answers, demand outside speakers, and request to visit real live policy-makers. The class would be similar to a citizen board or commission and I would be the executive director. It would be more like a real world policy making task force than just another class needed for graduation. Ive been luckyover the past 25 years this has happened more than you might expect.
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Writing is probably the most critical activity of learning. Reading is important but it is too passive to motivate most people to think hard thoughts. Writing causes a person to re-think, re-consider, and reconcile information, arguments, and evidence which he or she has read. I believe in writing. A day without writing is like a day without running. This course requires academic and professional writing, i.e. writing that is clear and crisp and is used to develop a well-organized and thoughtful argument. Good ideas can easily be diluted by bad writing. Split infinitives dont bother me but incomplete and awkward sentences do. The form of documentation and citation is less important than the quality of the idea and evidence. While one can get ideas from newspapers and random websites these are usually NOT credible sources for an academic paper. This course requires your attention and participation. You will be able to more easily make sense out of this course if you get involved from the beginning of the semester. You will be subscribed to Blackboard (//blackboard.Missouri.edu) for this course. You will need to make appropriate use of it during the semester. Staying Informed about Missouri, the Legislature, and other States All students are expected to follow current public affairs by reading quality printed news sources such as the St. Louis POST DISPATCH, The WASHINGTON POST and the NEW YORK TIMES and receiving quality electronic media such as C-SPAN, CNN, the and zillion information sources available on the internet. For your convenience I have established a homepage (www.missouri.edu/~polidjw) with links to major government, news and public policy organizations. You should visit regularly www.ncsl.org, www.nga.org, and www.stateline.org The two best website offering Missouri political and policy information are www.johncombest.com and the Missouri Digital News (www.mdn.org). Course Requirements There are four formal written assignments (total of 300 points) and two exams (total of 250 points) as well as five required acts of participation (possible 100 points) for a total of 650 points. A. Class contribution (usually 0, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 points). To receive 100 points, do the following: 1. Post on Blackboard a two-page reaction to several (more than three, but less than 10) "Issues Facing Missouri" essays by Sunday, February 10 at noon. 2. Post several current events, or otherwise informative, items on Blackboard before March 1. 3. Submit before March 1 at least five political or policy indicators (variables) for all 50 states for a class state policy data bank. 4. Participate actively in class discussion.
5. Post a two-page outline for your policy memo by Friday, March 21, 11:59PM. This outline must include: 1) a tentative title, (2) a problem statement or research question, (3) a list of 4
five credible sources, three of which you have held in your hands, (4) possible findings of your research, and (5) a statement of your personal interest in the topic.
6. Post ALL written assignments in a timely fashion.
B. Written Assignments (a total of 300 possible points) 1. Essay"Challenges facing Missouri" (worth up to 50 points) Write a 750 word essay identifying several policy and political problems you believe Missouri and other states will need to address over the next decade. This essay is due in class on Monday, February 4 and must be posted on Blackboard by 11:59 PM that evening. 2. Article Review essay (100 points) Write a 4-5 page review and synthesis of an article in an academic political science journal describing, explaining, and evaluating a political or policy problem facing several states. Suitable journals are STATE POLITICS AND POLICY QUARTERLY, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW, PUBLIUS, LEGISLATIVE STUDIES QUARTERLY, POLICY STUDIES JOURNAL, and the REVIEW OF POLICY RESEARCH, all but the last are available in Ellis. The prudent person would show me the article before she/her writes the assignment. (If you do not select an appropriate article in an appropriate political science journal, then you will receive a ZERO.) Your review is to be useful to other students in the class so you must either provide them a paper copy or post it to Blackboard. This is due Monday, March 10. It must be posted on Blackboard by 11:59 that night. 3. State Policy Research Design by Friday (50 points). Using the variables in the class state policy and politics data bank to which you have contributed data, write a "research design" that empirically examines a political or policy aspect of the 50 states. This is due March 28 and must be posted by that midnight. 4. Political or Policy Reform Analysis (worth up to 100 points). Write about a 6 page memo analyzing the impact of a specific policy or political reform that could be adopted by Missouri and other states. This analysis must have a one page summary suitable for a busy legislator and is due Monday, April 28. Use political science journals, think tanks, interest groups and government information sources, NOT NEWSPAPERS AND MEDIA LINKS, in this policy memo.
C. Exams (total of 250 possible points) 1. The first exam will be concerned with important aspects of the American and state policy-making process. The format will be concept identification and short essay and the exam is scheduled for Friday, February 29 and is worth up to 100 points.
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2. The final exam will be comprehensive and will consist of identification and essay questions asking you to synthesize the material covered in the course including the policy-making simulation. This exam will be given at the officially scheduled time (Thursday, May 15 at 1:00 ) and is worth up to 150 points.
Final Grades will be assigned according to the following scale (with possible slight downward modification depending on the class distribution): Over 97 percent is an A+ 94-96 is an A. 90-93 is an A-; 87-89 is B+; 84-86 percent is a B 80-83 is a B- and so on. Late papers are penalized and missed exams are seldom deemed to be worthy of a makeup. If a paper or exam is not completed it will be awarded a "0" and the final grade will be computed according to the scale above. No "incomplete" will be given in this course.
A Note about Class Attendance Because of the interactive and pa...