CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO. PPA 210: Political Environment of Policy Making Spring 2001

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1 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO PPA 210: Political Environment of Policy Making Spring 2001 Professor David De Luz, M.P.P.A Tahoe Hall (916) (Office) (916) (Home) BRH-104 Monday, 6-8:50 p.m. Office Hours: tba Scope and Purpose Do politics really matter? This has been an enduring question since the American Founding. Theorists and scholars have worked to protect government policy from the self-interest of political actors; to create an apolitical science of government where rationality reigns and public policy is rescued from the indignities of politics. Alas, today it is generally accepted that this effort has, thus far, fallen woefully short of its goal. Instead of rejecting out of hand politics as the crazy uncle in the basement of policy making, this course asks students to embrace the notion that politics matters, and then go beyond that. This seminar seeks to provide a foundation for understanding the political environment of the public policy process. Specifically, the course seeks to establish a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between individual actors, institutional context and policy outcomes, and apply this framework to hands-on analysis of contemporary issues facing California and the nation as a whole. This course examines the political environment of the policy process through several sets of lenses. We will endeavor to examine the motives of actors, institutional constraints and how these politics are altered at different stages of the policy process. Because of the shear breadth of the literature, ours will not be an exhaustive examination of any single stage or actor in the policy process, but rather it is a calculated effort to provide you with an understanding of the critical issues involved in policy making. Additionally, much of our work will focus on the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government, and how they interact with each other and the other external players in the policy process most prominent being interest groups and the media. While many of the examples and theoretical developments presented in this course are drawn from an examination of the federal policy process, this course shall endeavor to apply the lessons learned from these examples to the unique California policy environment. Finally, in the interest of time we will not discuss the role of the judiciary in any great length (although it should be noted that the courts do hold considerable sway in the policy process). 1

2 Requirements Class Participation: Students are expected to attend all classes and to participate actively in discussions. This being the case, it is imperative that readings for the week be completed prior to coming to class. Participation of all students is encouraged, and will be worth 10% of students final grade. Policy Memos: Two individual memos will be assigned. Memo length is 2-3 pages singlespaced. Memo topics will be distributed one week prior to the due date. Deadline extensions must be arranged in advance, and will lead to a grade deduction. Each memo will be equivalent to 20% of the student s grade. Class Presentations: Students will periodically be required to present the material for a given week (individually or as part of a team). Student presentations are to be minutes, followed by a class discussion. Presenters will be required to submit a 5-page policy memo to accompany their presentation. The presentation and memo will each be worth 10% of the students grade. Take-home final exam: The final take home exam will be distributed on the last day of class. It is due in my office on Monday, May 21 by 5 p.m. No late exams will be accepted. The final exam will comprise 30% of each student s grade. Readings: Most readings will be available at the Hornet Bookstore. In addition to the required texts listed below, many of the required readings will be available in a course packet. The packet contains articles and book chapters, as well as case study materials from various sources. Those readings that may not be available in the course packet will be distributed in class at least one week prior to their discussion, or they will be made available to view on reserve at the campus library. The following texts are required: Kingdon, John W Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, 2 nd ed. New York: HarperCollins. Stimson, James A Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings, 2 nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Stone, Deborah Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. Theodoulou, Stella Z. and Matthew A. Cahn Public Policy The Essential Readings. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Walker, Jack Mobilizing Interest Groups in America. Ann Arbor: Michigan Press. 2

3 Course Schedule and Assignments WEEK 1. POLITICS OF THE POLICY PROCESS: OVERVIEW T&C, Essay 1: The Contemporary Language of Public Policy: A Starting Point (Stella Theodoulou) T&C, Essay 3: Distribution, Regulation, Redistribution: The Functions of Government (Lowi) T&C, Essay 11: How Public Policy Is Made (Theodoulou) Stone, Deborah Policy Paradox. Read Preface and Introduction, pp. ixxiv, WEEK 2. THE KINGDON FRAMEWORK: PART I Kingdon, Chapters 1-6 WEEK 3. THE KINGDON FRAMEWORK: PART II Kingdon, Chapters 7-10 WEEK 4. POLICY ENTREPRENEURS: PLAYERS INSIDE THE POLICY PROCESS T&C, Essay 22: The Players: Institutional and Non-Institutional Actors in the policy process (Matthew A. Cahn) Mark Schneider and Paul Teske Toward a Theory of the Political Entrepreneur: Evidence from Local Government. American Political Science Review, 86:3, p. XX-XX. T&C, Essay 25: The Presidential Policy Stream (Paul Light) T&C, Essay 26: The Rise of the Bureaucratic State (Wilson) T&C, Essay 34: Parties, the Government and the Policy Process (Eldersveld) WEEK 5. POLICY ENTREPRENEURS: PLAYERS OUTSIDE THE POLICY PROCESS T&C, Essay 32: News that Matters (Iyengar and Kinder) T&C, Essay 33: Processing the News: How People Tame the Information Tide (Graber) T&C, Essay 35: The Advocacy Explosion (Berry) T&C, Essay 36: The Consultant Corps (Sabato) Policy Memo #1 distributed in class. WEEK 6. THE PROBLEM STREAM: PROBLEM DEFINITION, AGENDA SETTING AND THE WINNOWING OF ALTERNATIVES David A. Rochefort and Roger W. Cobb Problem Definition, Agenda Access and Policy Choice. Policy Studies Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, pg T&C, Essay 12: Issue and Agendas (Cobb and Elder) Agendas and Instability in American Politics: (Baumgartner/Jones), tbd. Anthony Downs Up and Down with Ecology -- The Issue Attention Cycle. The Public Interest, no. 28, pg Stone, Policy Paradox, TBD ***Policy Memo #1 due in class*** 3

4 WEEK 7. THE POLICY STREAM: Anne Schneider and Helen Ingram Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy. American Political Science Review, vol. 87, no. 2, pg T&C, Essay 4: Symbols and Political Quiescence (Edelman) T&C, Essay 7: Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment (Heclo) T&C, Essay 14: The Science of Muddling Through (Lindblom) T&C, Essay 15: Non-incremental Policy Making (Schulman) Stone, Policy Paradox, tbd WEEK 8. THE POLITICS STREAM I: PUBLIC OPINION Stimson, James A Public Opinion in America (entire book) WEEK 9. THE POLITICS STREAM II: MOBILIZATION AND COLLECTIVE ACTION Jack Walker Mobilizing Interest Groups in America. Skim lightly chapters 1, 4, 7-9; read thoroughly chapters 2,3,5,6 and 10. In Class Assignment: The Collective Action Game WEEK 10. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE POLICY ENVIRONMENT (EXAMINING THE WEAPONS OF WAR) Samuel Kernell Going Public, 2 nd edition. pgs David W. Brady and Craig Volden Revolving Gridlock: Politics and Policy from Carter to Clinton. pgs Barbara Sinclair Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress. Chapter 12, The Consequences of Unorthodox Lawmaking, pgs Mathew D. McCubbins and Thomas Schwartz Congressional Oversight Overlooked: Policy Patrols Versus Fire Alarms. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 2, no. l, pg B. Dan Wood and Richard W. Waterman The Dynamics of Political Control of the Bureaucracy. American Political Science Review, 85:3, pg WEEK 11. SPRING BREAK (APRIL 9-13). HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME! WEEK 12. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT, GRIDLOCK AND CONFRONTATION IN LEGISLATIVE/EXECUTIVE RELATIONS Cox, Gary W. and Samuel Kernell (eds.) The Politics of Divided Government. Chapters 1 and 10. Fiorina, Morris Divided Government, 2 nd edition. Chapter 11, p Brady, David W. and Craig Volden Revolving Gridlock: Politics and Policy from Carter to Clinton. p Peterson, Paul E. and Jay P. Greene Why Executive-Legislative Conflict in the United States is Dwindling. British Journal of Political Science, 24: Policy Memo #2 distributed in class. 4

5 WEEK 13. ALTERNATIVES TO POLICY CONFRONTATION I: COALITIONS reading assignment ***Policy Memo #2 due in class*** WEEK 14. ALTERNATIVES TO POLICY CONFRONTATION II: NEGOTIATION Thomas Schelling The Strategy of Conflict. p In Class Exercise: The Salty Dog WEEK 15. ALTERNATIVES TO POLICY CONFRONTATION III: MORE COMPLEX NEGOTIATION David Lax and James Sebenius The Manager as Negotiator. p MAPO-Administration Negotiation, General Information (to be distributed prior to class) In Class Exercise: MAPO-Administration Negotiation WEEK 16. ETHICS OF ADMINISTRATIVE DISCRETION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Michael Quinlan/Arthur Applbaum, debate in Governance 6 (October, 1993), pg Final exams to be distributed at the end of class. WEEK 17. FINAL EXAMS DUE, MONDAY, MAY 21, 5 P.M. NO EXCEPTIONS! 5