Final Exam Dec 18, 9-12am; Tisch 307
Robert Dahl, On Democracy
Dahl’s Critiera for a Democratic Process
Advantages of Democracy
Dahl’s views on political equality versus guardianship
Political equality
Why is political equality important? Why is democracy the best form of government? A normative argument
Mueller, Capitalism, Democracy, and Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery
characteristics of democracy
Mueller’s definition of democracy
Role of elections versus lobbying in a democracy
Minority Rule and Majority Acquiescence.
Apathy
Quest for political equality, political participation, and enlightened citizenry
How does democracy really work, and why might inequality actually enhance democracy?
Frank M. Bryan, Real Democracy: The New England Town Meeting and How It Works
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004): 56-81.
-Bryan’s observation about scale or size
-- Dahl's observation applied to VT-- “Very small units seem to us necessary
to provide a place where ordinary people can acquire the sense and the reality
of moral responsibility and political effectivneess"
Jane Mansbridge. Chapters 4-6, Beyond Adversary Democracy, 39-76.
--forces pushing for consensus
--forces pushing for conflict
--account of town meeting
--do town meetings foster
The Town Meeting in Selby is a
Putnam, Robert, Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital,
65-78
Definition of social capital
Why is social capital good for a community
Trends in civic engagement or social capital in US
Measuring social capital
Bonding versus bridging social capital/how is social capital created
Role of television
Skocpol, Theda, Advocates without Members The Recent Transformation
of American Civic Life
Radical changes in the associational universe- switch from old membership federations
to new movements
How are the old movements different from the new ones
why does the switch matter
What is her empirical evidence for the switch?
What is her normative assessment of why it matters (think about the policy example).
What is her critique of Putnam's "social capital is declining" thesis?
Schlozman et al, Civic Participation and the Equality Problem
What is their assessment of who participates?
How has the nature of American politics shifted
Civic Voluntarism Model- role of resources engagement, and recruitment
recruitment process and participatory stratification
What is their critique of Putnam? Why do they believe it matters who participates?
Michael Schudson, Good Citizens
How has our idea of the good citizen changed over time?
What are the duties of citizens under the progressive era conception of the
informed citizen and how realistic are they?
Rights Based Public Life/ rights conscious model
Schudson's idea of monitorial citizenship
--Is Schudson’s idea of monitorial citizenship a compelling alterantive to the Progressive era conception of the informed citizen?
Verba, Would the Dream of Political Equality Turnout to Be a Nightmare?
W hy does Verba believe that low levels of political participation matter?
Why is political equality hard to define- th right to participate and equal
treatment
Mead, Lawrence, The Great Passivity
-does Mead believe that current levels of political participation are a problem?
Why not?
What is attractive about Mead's arguments?
Participation in government is a collective obligation
Shea and Burton, Campaign Craft.
-What is the most important elements in developing a campaign plan?
Campaign Context-
Demographic research
Opposition research
Targeting
Green and Gerber, Get Out the Vote! How to Increase Voter Turnout
What works and what doesn’t?
randomized experimental design.
Cost Effectiveness
-what are the implications of their work for local campaigns
Abramson, Paul et al, Change and Continuity in the 2004 and 2006 Elections
Chapter 5
Social Forces and the Vote—to what degree do inviduals with similar social
characteristics share political interests and voting behavior
What are the most important ethnic, regional, and class differences in how people
vote for president
Why the focus on social groups
Ch 6
-what are the differences between prospective and retrospective voting? What
evidence is there of each kind?
Ch 7
Party loyalty
David Rusk, Upstate New York: a House Divided & Inside Game/Outside
Game
Implications of sprawl/municipal fragmentation for
racial and economic segregation
fiscal and educational outcomes
Little Box Government
David Rusk suggest that sprawl/municipal fragmentation dicate local governments
policy and outcomes?
today winenrs are tomorrows loser
local government fragmentation in New York
how fragmentation hurts economic development
what is the real city of Buffalo
--what are Rusk’s policy recommendations (his outside game)?
New York—Rules of Game Dictate Policy and Outcomes
Ehrenhalt, The United State of Ambition, Politicians, Power and the Pursuit of Power, Ch 2, 3, and 6