Fall 2014

This course provides an overview of California politics, with a focus on contemporary issues and an analysis of who wields power and why. Specifically, the course will focus on : the demographic, social and economic forces that shape the State's politics- the three official branches of state government (executive, legislative and judicial)- the three unofficial branches (the media, lobbyists and interest groups)- campaigns (candidates, initiatives, consultants, pollsters, political parties and money), local government, the state budget and education policies.

Subfield:   American Politics

Please note this description is from Fall 2013

TBA

Subfield: American Politics

This course considers the role of public opinion in determining public policy in democratic societies. Elections are the mechanisms deemed to translate public desires into governmental actions, so elections, in various contexts, are the focus of our inquiry. The course concentrates on American politics and uses past and upcoming presidential elections to examine the interplay between public opinion, political parties and candidates, and media institutions in determining the conduct and the quality of electoral decisions.

These main themes dominate the readings and discussion:
1. How do people acquire, organize, change and use their political beliefs and attitudes?
2. What is the quality of American public opinion in terms of knowledge, coherence, and rationality?
3. What are the main lines of cleavage in American public opinion? How polarized is the American
public-are we either red or blue or are there a lot of purples out there?
4. Who votes, who does more than vote and why?
5. Theories and facts about why people vote as they do?
6. Does campaign matter? The role of media, old and new.
7. Comparing elections: president v. congress, the special case of initiatives and referenda.
8. The relationships between public opinion, public policy, and democratic representation.

Subfield: American Politics

Please note that this course description is from Spring 2012.

The overwhelming majority of governments throughout history have been dictatorial. Even the recent spread of democracy has not extirpated authoritarian rule: as of 2012 roughly one quarter of all countries are considered full-blown autocracies. Whatever the benefits of democracy, it seems dictatorship is here to stay. This course explores the characteristics and dynamics of non-democratic regimes: how and why they come about, what sustains them, why some people resist them and others do not, and how and why they decline and fall. We will explore a variety of examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Using films and novels in addition to political science literature, we will investigate how dictators maintain their power, how ordinary people react to repression, and the links between dictatorship and security and economic development.

Subfield: Comparative Politics

Note: Course description is from Summer 2014

The welfare state is widely regarded as an endangered species. To some, it has become an unaffordable luxury. Heavy social spending may have been acceptable during boom times, but in today's competitive, globalizing environment, "economic" concerns must take precedence over "social" concerns, the "production" of wealth over its "redistribution." To others, the welfare state is not just expensive, but pernicious. Social spending fuels a "culture of dependency," encouraging idleness and setting "poverty traps" from which recipients cannot (or will not) escape. Thus, it is time to "end welfare as we know it."

This course, operating from a comparative, cross-national perspective, presents a different understanding of the welfare state. First, the welfare state is not an "it," but a "they." Welfare states vary tremendously from one country to the next, whether measured in terms of size, instruments, or objectives. Second, although social and political considerations shape welfare policy, economic considerations are no less critical. In other words, rather than operating on parallel tracks, "social policy" and "economic policy" are tightly coupled. Third, "ending welfare as we know it" is not synonymous with ending the welfare state. Social spending is fueled by powerful forces, including economic, so that contemporary welfare reform is as much
an exercise in reallocation and reorganization as in budget-cutting. 

Please note that this description is from Fall 2012.

An overview of modern Korea divided into the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The course will compare the two Koreas in terms of political, social and economic institutions, culture, political elites and modernization strategy.

Subfield:   Comparative Politics

Please note that this description is from Fall 2013.

Political Science 143A, the first of a two-semester upper division sequence on modern Northeast Asia, is primarily concerned with the People's Republic of China but also includes segments on China's relations with its immediate neighbors, as well as a look at the components of "Greater China," Hong Kong and Taiwan. Lecture topics will include the Chinese revolution and the old regime, Chinese political culture and the attempt at "cultural revolution," the political and economic dynamics of reform and opening to the outside world, Chinese foreign policy, the Tiananmen incident, and other such topics.

Subfield: Comparitive Politics

Please note that this course description is from Fall 2013.

This course examines the interaction between politics and markets, both in theory and in practice, linking classic works on political economy (Smith, Marx, List, Polanyi) with current policy debates.  It emphasizes the ways in which markets are embedded in social and political institutions.  We study how political systems and markets are organized in a wide range of different national settings, looking both at history and contemporary issues.  Topics include: 1) The history of industrialization, 2) The varieties of capitalism in contemporary industrialized countries, 3) The Newly Industrializing Economies of Latin America and East Asia, 4) The problems of development, and 5) The transition from communism to a market economy in Eastern Europe and China.  We conclude the course with a review of current issues in the global economy. The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach to these topics, building on analytical perspectives from institutional economics, economic sociology, and economic history as well as political science.  There are no pre-requisites, but some background in economics is strongly recommended.

Subfield:   Comparative Politics

A situation involves strategic interaction if the best course of action of one agent depends on what others are going to do and vice-versa. These situations include, for example, the competition among firms in an oligopolistic market, the struggle between candidates in an election campaign, the wage bargaining between a worker and an employer, and the rivalry between states locked in an arms race. Although originally developed and applied in economics, game theory is now commonly used in political science and is beginning to be applied more widely throughout the social sciences to model strategic interaction. This course offers a non-technical introduction to game theory with a special emphasis on examples and applications drawn from economics, political science, and the other social sciences.

Note: Political Science c135 is cross-listed with Economics c110.

While there are no formal prerequisites for this course, some prior coursework in economics   (e.g., Econ 1) is highly recommended. Class requirements include a midterm, final, and problem sets.

Subfield: Empirical Theory and Quantitative Methods

Please note that this course is NOT a substitute for PS3.

Please note that this course description is from Fall 2013