This course will examine, compare, and contrast the development, organization, and function of both political parties and interest groups in American politics within the context of elections at all levels of government. This course will encompass the political, legal, organizational, and policy-making aspects of the American Presidency. This course will examine the political and institutional development of Congress. The study will span both the formal legal powers and the internal dynamics of this major national policy-making institution. A study of the various types of political and governmental structures operative in the contemporary world as well as the various types of political functions performed within national systems.
Emphasis is placed on the comparative study of national political systems.
Investigates the forces influencing the making of law and the activities of major participants in the legal system. Considers both the capacity of law to affect social change as well as ways in which the legal system responds to social change. A study of decision-making processes in public organizations. An examination of the theories and studies of how public opinion is formed, measured, and related to the behavior of public officials. The final third of the course focuses on the politics of the relations between public officials and journalists during the news-gathering process.