Undergraduate

This course examines the nature and scope of American constitutional principles as developed in history: the philosophical foundations of individual rights, modern civil rights law, federalism, the jurisdiction of the federal courts, the separation of powers, executive power in foreign and domestic policy, the taxing power, and the commerce power. 

This course will employ the case method of law school, but will also incorporate methods and perspectives seldom found in law schools today, namely, understanding the nature of constitutional interpretation as it emerged from the natural law and English common law traditions, how the art of jurisprudence has evolved and become controversial in modern times, and how the other two branches of the federal government have affected our understanding of the Constitution. The course will seek to illuminate the myriad aspects of the Constitution in an unusual way: we’re going to read it like a book.

Among key questions the course shall consider include: How does the work of judges differ from that of elected officials?  What principles ought to guide judges in interpreting the law? Was the establishment of “judicial review” a logical corollary of having a written constitution, as Chief Justice John Marshall argued, or was it a “power grab” by a Federalist-dominated federal judiciary?  What role do the political branches play in interpreting the Constitution, and to what extent should judges defer to their constitutional judgments?  What is the proper balance between national powers delegated by the Constitution and the powers reserved to the states by the same document? What is the “police power,” and how it is inferred from the logic of the Constitution? Above all, is it necessary to go beyond the Constitution to understand it?

Instructor: Steven F. Hayward 

Email: steven.hayward@berkeley.edu 

This course will focus on the transformative process through which the nations of contemporary Southeast Asia have confronted political crises and instability and the various levels of success with which they have attempted to implement comprehensive programs of reform.  This course will analyze several different areas of political activity, such as:  state-led initiatives (political economy) regarding development and resource distribution; citizen and opposition movements both within and outside formal state institutions which seek to influence, alter, or overturn state action and policy; institution-building and the cultivation of social capital; and regional and transnational flows of capital and labor which act in alliance with or in opposition to national economic institutions.  Specific topics will include a comparative analysis of state policy; the relationship between illicit economies (such as narcotics) and ethnic insurgency; the nascent political voice of religion and ethnicity as nationalist or opposition ideologies; the expansion and influence of local NGOs (legal aid, human rights, women’s rights, etc.); political violence and alternative paths to the expression of discontent; and corruption.  After a general overview of Southeast Asia as a regional political theater, we will turn our attention to a series of in-depth case studies.  

Please note that this course description is from Spring 2015

This course examines patterns of political and economic change in Latin America over the course of the twentieth century.  Readings focus on industrialization and the advent of populism, the collapse of democracy and the rise of bureaucratic authoritarian regimes during the 1960s and 1970s, democratization, democratic consolidation, as well as economic liberalization and its aftermath. Readings focus on five country cases: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Venezuela.  Discussions frame the Latin American cases in terms of broader debates in comparative politics. 

Subfield:   Comparative Politics 

Students who took PS 191 "JUNIOR SEMINAR: LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS" with Professor Post cannot take this course due to the substantial similarity in course content

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.

This course examines the politics and policy of contemporary Japan, applying a range of theoretical perspectives to analyze both recent history and current events. After a brief historical review, we survey the core political institutions of the postwar era, examine patterns of political interaction, and investigate current debates over policy issues. We focus particularly on political change since 1993, including the new electoral system and party realignment. Specific topics include social issues, the economic crisis, political and economic reform, U.S.-Japan relations, defense and foreign policy.

Subfield:   Comparative Politics

Please note that this course description is from Fall 2013

Why are some post-communist countries more politically and economically successful than others? What underlies the many conflicts in this region? What can happen in the future, and what can we learn from the East European experience? This course is designed to help you answer these and similar questions. Topics include state-socialism and its collapse, the emergence of ethnic and religious conflict, the transitions to democracy and market economics, entry into NATO and the European Union, democratic backsliding, and Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

Political economy analyzes linkages between the economic and political spheres. It asks about the role of the state and politics in the economy; and conversely, how economic interests and power shape politics. The political economy of Israel today is similar to other capitalist democracies in having strong neoliberal or “free market” features. Yet at the same time,  the Israeli state pursues an ambitious and expensive agenda related to territory, demography and national identity. The state also has unusual capacities to shape economic activity through war preparation, occupation, and by attracting resources from abroad such as immigration and foreign aid. The course addresses this and other puzzles posed by the Israeli case. They include the unusual meaning of left and right in Israeli politics, a clash between “hawks” and “doves” that is seemingly all about ideology and identity politics, not “pocketbook issues” and the economy. On these issues Israeli public opinion has a clear preference for equality and the welfare state over unbound capitalism. Yet inequality is high and rising, in part because of government policies. Another seeming paradox is that Israel’s economy performs well, led by a dynamic and entrepreneurial hi-tech sector. Yet despite structural reforms to encourage competition, large sectors are sheltered from competition, and so-called “tycoons” control many of Israel’s largest businesses and enjoy vast personal wealth.

The rise and fall of world communism was one of the great dramas of the 20^th century, born in wars (World War I, World II), offering an alternative modernity to that of the capitalist world, and ultimately succumbing to the pressures of Cold War, capitalist globalization, and popular disaffection.  The result was either systemic collapse (the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) or a fundamental alteration of key features of the communist system (China, Vietnam).  Beyond that, a few hangers-on remain: North Korea, Laos, and Cuba, while many non-ruling communist parties have transformed themselves in either a more-radical or more social-democratic direction.  We will trace communism’s origins in Marxism and Leninism, its victory in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 , its construction of an international sub-system (the “world communist movement”), its spread throughout Europe and Asia (plus Cuba), and its ultimate demise. What did communist revolutions, states, and non-ruling communist parties have in common, in both their domestic and international orientations?  How did they differ from each other?  Why did international communism fracture into competing models of domestic and foreign relations?  Why did the Soviet Union and, with it, the world communist system ultimately collapse?  Is there a future for new communist states?  Our analyses will be informed by both a “comparative politics” and an “international relations” perspective, with an eye to understanding one of the most tumultuous periods, and most powerful ideas, in modern history. 

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 markets are structured in a wide range of different national settings, looking at both history and contemporary issues.  We review some of the most influential works from four disciplines: Economics, Sociology, History, and Political Science.  Topics include: 1) The history of industrialization, 2) The varieties of capitalism in contemporary industrialized countries, 3) The emerging 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.  Some background in economics strongly recommended.

Subfield:   Comparative Politics