CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO. PPA 210: Political Environment of Policy Making Spring 2002

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1 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO PPA 210: Political Environment of Policy Making Spring 2002 Professor David De Luz, M.P.P.A., M.A Tahoe Hall (916) (Office) (916) (Home) Location: ALP 205 Monday, 6-8:50 p.m. Office Hours: MR 5-6pm and by appointment 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 thus far fallen woefully short of its goal. Instead of rejecting politics out of hand 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 attempts 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 class. Students will also participate via , forwarding questions/constructive comments on the readings to the instructor by the Friday preceding class. Your grade will be based upon the breadth, quality and consistency of your participation, both in class and via . Participation of all students is encouraged, and will be worth 15% 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 (depending upon circumstances surrounding request). Each memo will be equivalent to 15% 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 be worth 25% 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 20 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: Keene, Barry Making Government Work: California Cases in Policy, Politics, and Public Management. Berkeley: IGS Press, University of California. Kingdon, John W Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, 2nd ed. New York: HarperCollins. Stimson, James A Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings, 2nd 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. January 28 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. ix-xiv, Keene, Case 10: Creative Evasion: The Blighted Desert Week 2. February 4 The Kingdon Framework: Part I Kingdon, Chapters 1-6 Other reading to be assigned Week 3. February 11 The Kingdon Framework: Part II Kingdon, Chapters 7-10 Week 4. February 18 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) T&C, Essay 23: Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment (Morris Fiorina) T&C, Essay 24: Congress: The Electoral Connection (David Mayhew) 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) Keene, Case 2: The Big Five: From Where the Power Flows Week 5. February 25 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) Keene, Case 6: Outside Public View: Let the Games Begin! Policy Memo #1 distributed in class. 3

4 Week 6. March 4 The Problem Stream: Problem Definition, Agenda Setting and the Winnowing of Alternatives T&C, Essay 12: Issue and Agendas (Cobb and Elder) Frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones Chapter 1: Punctuated Equilibria in Politics, in Agendas and Instability in American Politics, p 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*** Week 7. March 11 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. March 18 The Politics Stream I: Public Opinion Stimson, James A Public Opinion in America (entire book) March 25 and April 1*** Spring break and Caesar Chavez Day No Class! NOTE***: It is strongly advised that you stay current in the readings, and that you take advantage of this time off to review your notes. There is a significant amount of reading in the next couple of weeks, and to fall behind at this point could present a serious problem! Week 9. April 8 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. Keene, Case 7: Constructive Squabbling: A Big Mayor for a Little City In Class Assignment: The Collective Action Game Week 10. April 15*** Conflict and Competitive Advantage in the Policy Environment (examining the weapons of war) Cox, Gary W. and Samuel Kernell (eds.) The Politics of Divided Government. Chapters 1 and 10. Fiorina, Morris Divided Government, 2nd edition. Chapter 11, p David W. Brady and Craig Volden Chapter 1, The Origins of Revolving Gridlock, in Revolving Gridlock: Politics and Policy from Carter to Clinton. pgs

5 Samuel Kernell Going Public, 2nd edition. 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 *** - I advise you to work in groups on this reading assignment! I know it s a lot, but because of the two-week layoff we ve got to make it up somewhere!!!! Policy Memo #2 distributed in class. Week 11. April 22 The Moral Maze and Ethics in Public Administration Peter Madsen and Jay Shafritz Introduction, in Essentials of Government Ethics, p Sissela Bok Lies for the Public Good, in Essentials of Government Ethics, p Peter French Dirty Hands, in Essentials of Government Ethics, p Keene, Case 1: Line Appointees: Three Strikes and He s Out! ***Policy Memo #2 due in class*** Week 12. April 29 Alternatives to Policy Confrontation I: Coalitions Readings to be assigned Keene, Case 8: Creative Collaboration: Regaining South spit For the Birds Week 13. May 6 Alternatives to Policy Confrontation II: Negotiation Thomas Schelling The Strategy of Conflict. p In Class Exercise: The Salty Dog Week 14. May 13 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 Brief Review for Final Final exams to be distributed at the end of class. Week 15. FINAL EXAMS DUE, Monday, May 20, 8 p.m. No exceptions! 5