1. The Study of American Government
Chapter 1
The Study of American Government

2. Learning Objectives What is meant by “politics”?
Can you give two definitions of “democracy”?
How is political power actually distributed in America?
What is the “political agenda” and why has it expanded?
How can you classify and explain the politics of different issues?
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

3. Issues and Politics
Issue: a real or apparent conflict between the interests, ideas, or beliefs of different citizens
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Have issues changed significantly since colonial times?

4. Issues and Politics
Politics: activity by which an issue is agitated or settled
Negotiation
Argument
Discussion
Application of force
Persuasion
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

5. Power, Authority, and Legitimacy
Power: ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with his/her wishes
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

6. Power, Authority, and Legitimacy
Authority: rightful power
Varies from time to time
Varies from country to country
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
How does Congress assert its authority? How does the president?

7. Power, Authority, and Legitimacy
Legitimacy: political authority conferred by law or by a constitution
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

8. What is Democracy? Democracy: rule of the many
Direct democracy: government in which most citizens participate directly
Representative democracy: government in which elected leaders make decisions
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Joseph Schumpeter: “The democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at
political decisions in which individuals [that is, leaders] acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.”

9. Political Power in America: Five Views
Class view
Government dominated by capitalists
Power elite view
Government dominated by a few top leaders, mostly outside of government
Bureaucratic view
Government dominated by appointed officials
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

10. Political Power in America: Five Views
Pluralist view
Belief that competition among all affected interests shapes public policy
Creedal passion view
Government dominated by impassioned elites
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

11. Who Governs—and to What Ends?
How is political power actually distributed in America?
What explains major political change?
To what ends?
What value or values matter most in American democracy?
Are trade-offs among political purposes inevitable?
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
All views are correct on some level.

12. Expanding the Political Agenda
Political agenda: issues that people believe require governmental action; affected by
Shared political values
Weight of custom and tradition
Impact of events
Changes in way political elites think and talk about politics
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

13. Expanding the Political Agenda
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Americans felt powerfully connected to their fellow citizens in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
Source: Matt McDermott

14. Expanding the Political Agenda
Groups (organized and unorganized)
Government institutions
Includes courts, bureaucracies
Source of policy (not just reactive)
Media
Action by the States
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
New Deal legislation: responded to social problems, but first devised by non-government experts
Great Society measures: developed, designed, and advocated by government officials and bureaucrats

15. The Politics of Different Issues
Type of issue affects politicking
Costs (monetary or nonmonetary)
Benefits (monetary or nonmonetary)
Perception of costs vs. benefits
Is beneficiary “deserving”?
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Politics is in large measure a process of raising and settling disputes over who will benefit or pay for
a program and who ought to benefit or pay.

16. The Politics of Different Issues
Simple theory of politics:
Are costs and benefits of proposed policy widely distributed?
Income tax, Social Security
Are costs and benefits of proposed policy narrowly distributed?
Farm subsidies
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

17. Four Types of Politics Majoritarian politics
Distributed benefits, distributed costs
Free-rider problem
Example: Social Security
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

18. Four Types of Politics Interest group politics
Usually involves organized interest groups
Concentrated benefits, concentrated costs
Example: regulations affecting layoff notifications for union members
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Unorganized interest groups (such as welfare recipients and the homeless) typically receive far less benefits.

19. Four Types of Politics Client politics
Concentrated benefits, distributed costs
Pork-barrel legislations and log-rolling
Example: farm subsidies
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

20. Four Types of Politics Entrepreneurial Politics
Distributed benefits, concentrated costs
Policy entrepreneurs
Ralph Nader
Example: environmental protection regulations
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

21. A Way of Classifying and Explaining the Politics of Different Policy Issues
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Figure 1.1

22. Four Types of Politics Policy dynamics
Issue can remain stable, change a little or a lot, change slowly or quickly
No “typical” path
Most major social legislation reflects majoritarian politics
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is an exception. It reflects all four types of politics.

23. Major Overhaul of U.S. Military Includes Defense Cuts
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Click picture to play video

24. Major Overhaul of U.S. Military Includes Defense Cuts
Taking a closer look:
Which of the four types of politics best describes defense policy?
When formulating this policy, who likely served as President Obama’s primary advisors?
What can you hypothesize about the timing of this policy proposal?
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

25. Understanding Politics
Political scientists ask how and why
Who governs—and to what ends?
How do political issues get on the public agenda?
How do the politics of issues change over time?
What political obstacles and opportunities will arise?
What is the role of public opinion, interest groups, the media, the courts and political parties?
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.