Prof. Paul Steinberg	Mon/Wed 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Humanities and Social Sciences 2	Room: Jacobs B132
Harvey Mudd College	Spring 2004
Office Hours: Tu/Wed 4:15-5:15 p.m. or by appt.

Politics is the struggle over who makes authoritative decisions for society. Political events exercise a profound influence over our daily lives, warranting careful scrutiny and active engagement - especially by those who aspire to positions of social leadership. This course provides an opportunity to analyze complex political problems, to debate the merits of competing worldviews and policy proposals, and to communicate your views through high-impact writing and public speaking. Drawing on insights from political science and related fields, we will consider contemporary controversies as well as long-standing debates and will explore the links between the two. Specific topics include U.S. foreign policy in the post-9/11 world, freedom, democracy, public opinion, electoral campaigns, social movements, war and peace, and political engagement.

Required Texts

• Herbert Asher, Polling and the Public: What Every Citizen Should Know, CQ Press, 2001.
• Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, University of Chicago Press, 2002.
• Monty G. Marshall and Ted Robert Gurr, Peace and Conflict 2003: A Global Survey of Armed Conflicts, Self-Determination Movements, and Democracy, Center for International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland, 2003. 
• Samuel L. Popkin, The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Political Campaigns, University of Chicago Press, 1994.
• Thomas R. Rochon, Culture Moves: Ideas, Activism, and Changing Values, Princeton University Press, 1998.
• The New York Times – Students are responsible for reading 3 issues per week. 
• All other readings can be downloaded from ERes

Course Requirements

Class Participation	10%
Weekly Reflection Papers	10%
Essay 1	15%
Essay 2	15%
Research Paper	25%
Group Debates	10%
Final Presentation	15%

Course Schedule

Wednesday, Jan. 21
Introduction and Course Overview
No assigned readings


TERRORISM AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER

Monday, Jan. 26      
Understanding Terrorism

Readings:

• Jessica Stern (2003) The Protean Enemy, Foreign Affairs 82(4):27-40.
• Graham E. Fuller (2002) The Future of Political Islam, Foreign Affairs 81(2):48-60.
  

Wednesday, Jan. 28
Competing Approaches to U.S. Foreign Policy

Readings:

• Joseph S. Nye, Jr. (2003) U.S. Power and Strategy After Iraq, Foreign Affairs, 82(4):60.
• Security Cooperation - Working with Others in a Globalized World.  Panel discussion sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center under the auspices of the Eisenhower National Security Conference, held on September 25, 2002 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC.
  

Debate #1:  Is the American war in Iraq justified?

Monday, Feb. 2                
Draft of Essay #1 due
No readings
In-class discussion of writing structure.


FREEDOM

Wednesday, Feb. 4
Responding to Tyranny

Readings:

• Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
• Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless, in The Power of the Powerless, translated by Paul Wilson, Hutchinson Educational, Ltd., 1985.  Selections to be announced.
• The Declaration of Independence.
  

Monday, Feb. 9    
Essay #1 final draft due
No readings
Meet in computer lab for writing exercise on reducing clutter

Wednesday, Feb. 11
Diverse Conceptions of Freedom

Readings:

• Catherine A. MacKinnon, Difference and Dominance: On Sex Discrimination (1984), pp. 81-94 in K. Bartlet and R. Kennedy (eds.), Feminist Legal Theory, Reading Law and Gender, Westview Press, 1991.
• Capitalism and Freedom, Chapters 1 and 2.
  

DEMOCRACY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Monday, Feb. 16     
The Idea of Democracy

Readings:

• Robert Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics, Yale University Press, 1991.  Chapters 2 and 4.
  

Group Debate #2

Wednesday, Feb. 18
Understanding Democratic Transitions

Readings:

• Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, University of Oklahoma Press, 1991, pp. 3-46.
• Select, read, and come prepared to discuss any article from the Journal of Democracy (available on electronic journals)
  

Monday, Feb. 23
Can Democracy be Exported?

Readings:

• From Victory to Success: After War Policy in Iraq, Foreign Policy and Carnegie Endowment Special Report, pp. 50-72, 2003.

PUBLIC OPINION

Wednesday, Feb. 25
Voter Perceptions I        

Readings:

• The Reasoning Voter, Chapters 1 and 2.

Monday, March 1
Voter Perceptions II

Readings:

• The Reasoning Voter, Chapters 3 and 11.
  

Wednesday, March 3
Measuring Public Opinion        

Readings:

• Polling and the Public, Chapters 1, 3, and 7.

Monday, March 8
Cultural Change

Readings:

• Culture Moves, Chapters 1 and 3.

Wednesday, March 10 
Essay # 2 (final draft) due
No readings

March 12-21
Spring Break 

Monday, March 22     
In-class writing exercise
Readings to be announced.


SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Wednesday, March 24 
Solidarity

Readings:

• Culture Moves, Chapters 4 and 5.

Monday, March 29
Plant a Tree, or Torch a Hummer? Movement Strategy

Readings:

• Malcolm X, The Ballot or the Bullet, 1964.
• Steven E. Barkan (1979) Strategic, Tactical, and Organizational Dilemmas of the Protest Movement Against Nuclear Power, Social Problems 27(1):19-37.
  

Wednesday, March 31
International Social Movements

Readings:

• Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1998.  Chapter 2.
• Kim D. Reimann (2001) Building Networks from the Outside In: International Movements, Japanese NGOs, and the Kyoto Climate Change Conference, Mobilization: An International Journal 6(1):69-82.
  

WAR AND PEACE

Monday, April 5
The Current Status of Armed Conflicts

Readings:

• Peace and Conflict 2003, pp. 1-38.
  

Group Debate #3

Wednesday, April 7
Causes of War        

Readings:

• Jack S. Levy, The Causes of War: A Review of Theories and Evidence, pp. 210-333 in Philip E. Tetlock et al. (eds.), Behavior, Society, and Nuclear War, National Research Council, Oxford University Press, 1989.  (Chapter sections will be divided among student groups.)
• Michael E. Brown, The Causes of Internal Conflict: An Overview, pp. 3-25 in Michael E. Brown et al. (eds.), Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict, MIT Press, 1997.
  

Monday, April 12
Draft of research paper due
No required readings
Practice oral presentations this week with video camera

Wednesday, April 14       
When Does Humanitarian Intervention Work?

Readings to be announced
Final student presentations

Monday, April 19   
HumSoc Advising Session
Final draft of research paper due
No required readings

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

Wednesday, April 21      
Trends in Political Participation

Readings:

• Robert D. Putnam (1996) The Strange Disappearance of Civic America, The American Prospect 7(24):34-48.
• Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady (1997) The Big Tilt, The American Prospect 8(32):74-80.
  

Final student presentations

Monday, April 26
Student Attitudes Toward Politics

Readings:

• Cooperative Institutional Research Program (UCLA), The American Freshman - National Norms for 2002.  Selections to be announced.

Final student presentations

Wednesday, April 28       
Wrap-up
No required readings
Final student presentations

May 3-5
Presentation Days
No class