Political Science Courses at Berkeley

Description: Introduction to American Politics

This class is an introduction to American government. We will explore the development and operation of the major institutional components of the American political system, including the Constitution, presidency, Congress, bureaucracy, courts, parties, and interest groups. The course will also address such topics as the extent to which the United States differs from other democracies in its political institutions and culture, the ways in which the role of government in the U.S. has evolved over time in response to historical developments and the demands of its citizens, and the role of public opinion and social movements in influencing government actions. In addition, we will analyze the ongoing 2008 presidential campaign from the perspective of the discipline of political science.
David A. Hopkins is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include political parties, elections, voting behavior, Congress, and legislative districting. His dissertation examines the causes and effects of geographic polarization in American national elections. He is also the co-author of Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics.

Description: This course deals with the basic problems and processes that all political systems face and examines their particular expression in Western, Communist, and Third World settings.
Martha Johnson studies African politics. She has done fieldwork in Senegal and Burkina Faso and lived in West Africa for about 2 years. She is currently completing her dissertation on why politicians choose to support or not support the development of good public organizations in Africa. Her fields of interest also include public administration,organization theory and the study of development. She has taught courses in comparative politics and the politics of development at UC Berkeley.

For more information on her research and teaching, visit

http://mclairejohnson.googlepages.com/

Description: This course provides an introduction to the methods political scientists use to answer questions about politics. It begins with a discussion of the primary difficulties involved in making descriptive and causal inferences about politics, but will quickly move on to discuss the basic concepts and techniques of quantitative as well as qualitative research methods. Students will be expected to apply these skills in a series of hands-on exercises.

Description: PS 3

Introduction to Research Methods in Political Science

Professor Laura Stoker

This course is an introduction to the methods employed in empirical political science research. We will cover basic topics in research design, statistics, and formal modeling, considering many examples along the way. The two primary goals of the course are: (1) to provide students with analytic tools that will help them to understand how political scientists do empirical research, and (2) to improve students' ability to pose and answer research questions on their own. There are no prerequisites. Grades will be based on a midterm examination (30%), a comprehensive final examination (50%), and homework assignments (20%).

Description: Early modern political thought up to the French Revolution, including Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.

An examination of some of the most important topics and themes in social and political theory from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, by means of a critical survey of some of the writings of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Reading List for PS 112B: Marsilius of Padua, (xeroxed selections from The Defender of the Peace)\\\; Machiavelli, The Prince and the Discourses (Modern Library)\\\; Martin Luther, Selections from his Writings (Doubleday Anchor)\\\; Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (Penguin)\\\; John Locke, The Two Treatises on Government (Collier)\\\; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The First and Second Discourses, (St Martin's Press). Requirements: No midterms, no finals. Grades to be based on three ten-page papers. Attendance at and active participation in weekly discussion sections will be mandatory.

Description: This course offers intensive comparative study of the wave of democratization that has swept much of Latin America, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union during the past two decades. The course will analyze the theoretical literatures on regime change and compare the experiences of countries emerging from bureaucratic authoritarianism, military rule, and socialism. How do political culture, social structure and socio-economic development, constitutional systems, and international pressures affect attempts to build democratic institutions in polities recently emerging from authoritarian rule? We will investigate, among other topics: the meaning of democracy- the factors that facilitate or impede democratic transition- the roles and strategies of mass movements and elites in the process of democratization- problems of nationalism and ethnic conflict in transitions- the relationship between democratization and economic systems- and the possible limits of democratization and risks of authoritarian reversion.

There are no formal prerequisites, but the course is recommended only for juniors and seniors who possess some background and an interest in comparative politics.

Description: As migration has become an increasingly global phenomenon, more and more countries around the world find themselves embroiled in the same debates over the perceived costs and benefits of immigration that have long been a familiar part of U.S. politics. In this class we examine how and why political conflicts over immigration arise and are played out in sometimes similar, sometimes dissimilar ways across different national settings.

Lectures and readings are thematically organized around three areasthat seem to prompt political debate in every immigrant-receivingsociety. First we look at the politics around immigrant admissions,such as policies regulating border control, visa quotas/categories and their determinants, undocumented migration, and acceptance of asylum seekers. We then consider the context of debates around immigrants'perceived impact on jobs, taxes, the welfare system and other public services. Finally, we move on to political conflicts around immigrants' assimilation/integration, looking at contention over language rights, ethnic and racial divisions, religious differences, voting rights and citizenship attainment, to name a few.

The aim of this course is not to weigh in on any side of any particular debate, but to give students the analytical tools with which to critically compare and contrast the relevant issues, actors,political institutions, and political processes that form the basis of immigration-related policy debates in a variety of different national contexts. We start with the U.S. but then look for parallels and comparative reference elsewhere, including in-depth looks at the experiences of France, Japan, and Australia. In each case, academic works will be supplemented with empirical examples drawn from the instructors' own research, narratives of immigrants' lived experiences, documentary films, political cartoons, and journalistic accounts of policy developments, public opinions, and political debates related to immigration.

Description: This lecture course exposes students to the main debates in the field of economic and political development and underdevelopment. It covers the classic texts and scholarly traditions in the field and also gives students a sense of the frontiers of research on the political economy of development, focusing especially on the changing ideas about development,transformations in the international economy and its impact on domestic and local economies. Although the emphasis is on arguments and analytical constructs, students will also be exposed to case material from Latin America, East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia when it demonstrates a particular experience or set of ideas. Apart from an intellectual history of the field, the course explores different patterns of industrialization (ISI, the "toyoda model," post-fordism, networked production), state-building, market creation, the political consequences of economic change, and cultural responses to globalization and financial crises.

This course is NOT exclusively dedicated to the so-called "Third World" since late development was also a condition faced by every country except England. This course does not address the very important issue of development and gender in a detailed fashion.

Description: With changes in technology, the internationalization of production and the mass live increase in trans-border transactions of all kinds, it has been argued that we live and work in an era of substantively different capitalism. Were this true, it has deep implications for politics and for political economy. This undergraduate seminar explores the validity of this claim of a "new capitalism" through a variety of materials, starting with the question of whether "Fordism" ever existed, moving on to the question of whether "Post-Fordism" exists and ending with a variety of ethnographic studies that show how global production chains shape culture, gender, and hieraarchy/power.

Description: Enrollment limited to juniors and seniors.

For most Americans the events of September 11, 2001 confirmed the conventional wisdom that the Middle East is a violent, unstable area racked by age old primordial hatreds. In fact, with the recent exception of Iraq, the regimes in existence today have been around since the 1960s or earlier: much of the political history of the modern Middle East is the story of regime consolidation despite popular opposition whether it came in the form of Pan-Arabism, Socialism or Islamism. Political stasis at the top contrasts vividly with dramatic processes of fundamental economic and social change that have shaped the region over the last five decades. Now,as the United States continues its stated aim of reshaping the region, the status quo has changed radically.

The aim of this course is to identify and understand the domestic and international factors that have shaped the contemporary Middle East. It attends to questions concerning the unique political economy of the region, state building and regime consolidation, nationalism, social movements, Arab nationalism, Islamism, ideology and identity as they have evolved since the end of World War I.

The discussion begins by critically examining frameworks commonly used for the study of the Middle East. It then presents a broad historical overview focusing on the importance of the Ottoman legacy and European colonialism the Cold War, and the Arab Cold War, focusing on their consequences for subsequent developments. The second section reviews the changes precipitated by the oil boom of the 1970s and the recession of the 1980s when the region became ever more tightly linked to the international economy. The failure of economic liberalization programs and continuing recession until 2003 sets the stage for a discussion of the Gulf Wars I and II, the crisis of the Arab state, the rise of different forms of political Islamism and the dramatic increase in sectarian conflict.

In this course you will learn about the following countries in detail:Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Although not considered a part of the Middle East, Afghanistan will also receive attention on account of its being the birth place of Al Qaida. The course concludes with an examination of contemporary debates about the Middle East and about the on-going war in Iraq.

Requirements/format: This is a difficult course, particularly for students who lack a background on the politics and economics of the region, comparative politics or political economy. Lectures will include a brief outline which will eventually be available on the web. Lectures may be recorded only with the explicit written directive of the DSP. DSP paperwork must be submitted by the end of the second week of class.

The course has three quizes (15%), one mid-term (20%), one 10 page paper(20%) and a final examination (30%). Quizzes will be in-class and without prior announcement. The papers will relate to a current event of interest to the student. Papers will be submitted in hard copy unless they deal with video or web-based material. Section attendance and participation will comprise 15% of the grade. Students will lead discussion in section once during the term. Students may be asked to view and synthesize their views on recent documentary films that are either available on the web, or will be shown in class. Other films will be made available for viewing on campus, but are not required.

There are many important topics that this course does not cover, among them, the role of women in Islam and the Arab Israeli conflict. Courses focused on these issues are regularly offered on campus by other departments.

Description: A comparative analysis of development and change in the political systems of contemporary South Asia.

Description: DEMOCRACY AND AUTHORITARIANISM IN LATIN AMERICA

What have been the challenges associated with the establishment and consolidation of democracy in Latin America? While countries throughout the region experienced a breakdown of democratic politics in the 1960s and 1970s, by the 1980s nearly all of these countries had transitioned to democracy. Can this new wave of democracy be sustained? And can democratic institutions provide meaningful representation for all their citizens – not just the elite?

This course examines democracy and authoritarianism in Latin America, with a particular emphasis on the quality of democracy in the current period. The course is divided into two sections. In the first section, we will examine the breakdown of democratic politics in the 1960s-1970s and subsequent authoritarian rule in several Latin American countries. We will then explore the fault lines of these authoritarian regimes and subsequent transitions to democracy. In the second section, we will examine the challenges associated with the consolidation of high-quality democracy in recent years. We will explore four particular issues related to democratic quality, and for each issue we will profile one country case: addressing the legacies of authoritarianism (Guatemala)\\\; ensuring accountability and effective interest representation (Brazil)\\\; weak state capacity (Colombia)\\\; and poverty and inequality (Peru).

This course serves as a complement to PS 148a (Latin American Political Change) and PS 137c (Democracy and its Alternatives in the Developing World), though it has no pre-requisites.

Lindsay R. Mayka is a Ph.D. candidate in political science, specializing in comparative politics, Latin American politics, and public policy and administration. She has studied and conducted research in Mexico, Peru and Brazil, and will be returning to Brazil in the fall for field research. She is currently working on her dissertation that examines why politicians create and institutionalize participatory governance councils that directly engage civil society groups in the policymaking process in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.

Description: This course examines the development of judicial review and the evolving role of the U.S. Supreme Court through analysis of landmark decisions of the Court. In particular, this course will focus on a theoretical discussion analyzing the plurality of methods of constitutional interpretation used by justices in the past and present. The course will also examine what the role of the Court is and should be, from the lens of both original intent and theories of judicial review and power. In addition, we will study the Bush v. Gore decision specifically, to understand the unique politics and processes surrounding the resolution of the 2000 presidential election, with a view to understanding the impact of Supreme Court decisions on the Court's legitimacy as an institution.

Specifically, the course will examine the Court's decisions in the areas of federalism and commerce, including decisions in the area of equal protection, civil rights, and voting rights, and horizontal separation of powers in both the domestic setting and the context of war powers.

Instructor: Peter Hanson phanson@berkeley.edu

Peter Hanson is a doctoral candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. His dissertation, entitled "The Institutional Effects of Partisan Polarization on Congress," examines how the growing rift between Republicans and Democrats is changing the institution of Congress. He is also the author of "Flag Burning," a study of the response of public opinion to the Supreme Court's decision to legalize flag burning, in the forthcoming book "Public Opinion and Constitutional Controversy," (eds. Persily, Citrin and Egan). Prior to coming to Berkeley, Peter was a legislative assistant for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle.

Description: PS 164a

Political Psychology

Professor Laura Stoker

This course explores the sources of public opinion and political behavior through the application of psychological theories about personality, learning, cognition, emotion, social influence and group dynamics. The first part of the course focuses directly on psychological theories and concepts, illustrating them with political applications. The second part of the course focuses upon topics traditionally taken up by political scientists (political socialization, political communication and media effects, candidate evaluations and voting), bringing psychological perspectives to bear. Grades will be determined by a mid-term examination (30%), a short research paper (20%), and a final examination (50%).

Description: Homelessness, global warming, corruption, bankrupt pension systems, educational inequality... This course explores what we can learn in general about the way societies try to address and solve difficult and seemingly intractable public problems. Can we attribute success or failure to institutions and their capacity to solve problems? Are problems difficult to solve because they are so complex and we lack know-how or because of a failure of political will? What are the characteristics of organizations or communities able to solve problems proactively or creatively? How do public problems get politically framed and how are they used to mobilize constituencies? The course draws on literature in public administration, public policy studies, and democratic theory to try to better understand some of the major social, political, environmental, and economic problems of our contemporary world.