The separation of powers is a cardinal doctrine of the United States Constitution. Described by the Framers as a check on unaccountable power, it is one of the most distinctive features of American constitutionalism exported to other countries that have adopted American-style Presidentialism. This seminar will be devoted to a study of separation of powers as a (controversial) principle of constitutional design. Seminar members will study the modern academic literature on separation of powers in constitutional theory and comparative constitutionalism; the intellectual origins of separation of powers; and how U.S. Federal courts have attempted to refine and preserve the doctrine in landmark decisions such as Clinton v. New York; Zivotofsky v. Kerry; United States v. Nixon; Trump v. United States.
The Junior Seminars are intense writing seminars which focus on the research area of the faculty member teaching the course. The seminars provide an opportunity for students to have direct intellectual interactions with faculty members while also giving the students an understanding for faculty research.
Junior seminars fulfill upper division requirements for the major.
Subfield: Political Theory
Political Science Majors of Junior and Senior Status. Prior completion of at least 1 Political Theory course.
Students can directly enroll in this semester but will be dropped if they have not already taken a course in Political Theory here or at a community college (courses in progress can satisfy this requirement) or they have not received an exception from Prof. Lee based on other related coursework. Questions regarding suitable prior coursework should be sent to Prof. Lee at dan.lee@berkeley.edu.