GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

 

                                THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY

 

 

Course Title: PUBP 805  -- Public Policy Systems and Theory

 

 

Semester: Fall 2002  – Wednesday,  4:30-7:00

                                      Krug Hall, 209

 

 

Professor:           Dr. Susan J. Tolchin

                             Professor of Public Policy

                             Finley 213

                            Phone: (703) 993-4035

                            Fax: (703) 993-2284

                            E-Mail: tolchin@gmu.edu

 

                      

“Discipali Victoria, Gloria Magister”

 

          (Translation : “The advancement of the student is the glory of the professor.”)  From Epistle 194 of Benedict Gerbertus, a Benedictine monk who became the first French pope, Pope Sylvester II, who reigned from 999-1003 A.D.)

 

 

         

 

Plagiarism: All work must be your own. Inappropriate use of the work of others without attribution is plagiarism and a George Mason University Honor Code violation punishable by expulsion from the university. All students should familiarize themselves with this honor code provision (http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/handbook/aD.html  ) . To guard against plagiarism and to treat students equitably, written work may be checked against existing published materials or digital data bases available through various plagiarism materials or digital data bases available through various plagiarism detection services. Accordingly materials submitted to all courses must be available in electronic format.

 

                

Course description:  An inquiry into the theories of public policy, emphasizing the historical, intellectual and international development of the discipline. The discussions will focus on the political and social environment of the policy system, with special emphasis on the policy making environment. 

 

Course requirements: 1)- A research paper that integrates the fundamental principles of the course. Students may select any specific public policy that interests them, and analyze that policy from the perspective of one policy theory from the literature assigned and discussed in class. Papers are due on the last day of class, December 4. (Outlines for the papers will be due September 25);  2)- A mid-semester assignment will be  announced in class early in the semester, and will be due on October 9. There will be no class on October 2, so that students can do the field work necessary for the assignment.  A take-home final examination will be given on December 4, and due 48 hours later.  Final grades will evaluated on the following basis: papers will count toward 50%; the final and midterm 20% each, and class participation, 10%. 

 

Texts:

 

Randall Clemons and Mark K. McBeth, Public Policy Praxis – Theory and      

      Pragmatism: A Case Approach. Prentice-Hall, 2001.

 

A.   Lee Fritschler and James M. Hoefler. Smoking and Politics – Policy Making and the Federal Bureaucracy. 5th Edition. Prentice-Hall, 1996.

 

John W. Kingdon. Agendas, Alternatives and Public Choices.

      2nd edition. HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995.

 

 

Anne Larason Schneider and Helen Ingram. Policy Design for

     Democracy. University Press of Kansas, 1997.

 

 

James Q. Wilson. Bureaucracy – What Government Agencies Do

      and Why They Do it.  Basic Books, 1989.

 

 

Class format:

 

          The course will be taught in a seminar format, with emphasis on student discussion at each class session. Students are expected to keep up with the reading, and come to class prepared to participate.

 

 

                                      Class Sessions                 

 

 

I –  August 28 – INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC POLICY SYSTEMS

                              AND THEORY

 

 

II – September 4  – PUBLIC POLICY AND POLITICAL REALITY

 

                   *Administrative Process and Regulation

                   *The Role of Political Variables

                  

                   Readings:

 

                   Fritschler and Hoefler

 

 

III – September 11 – AGENDA SETTING

                  

                   *Major Theories of Policy-making

                   *How Policies Reach the Decision-making Agenda

                  

                   Readings:

 

                   Kingdon, chs. 1-5.

 

 

IV –  September 18 – THE POLICY MIX

 

                   *The Policy Environment

                   *The Policy Stream, Policy Community and Policy Window

                   *Policy Entrepreneurs

 

                   Readings:

 

                   Kingdon, Chs. 6-10.

 

 

V – September 25 – THEORIES OF PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS

 

                   *Policy Design

                   *Pluralism

                   *Rationalism, Incrementalism and Systems Theory

                   *Public Choice

 

                   Readings:

 

                   Schneider and Ingram, chs. 1-4.

 

 

VI – October 2  – THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

                                                (outlines due)

 

                   *Thinking critically

                   *Criticisms of Policy Theories

                   *Social Policy

 

                   Readings:

 

                   Schneider and Ingram, chs. 5-7.

 

 

 

 

VII – October 9 – MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT

 

 

 

VIII – October 16 – BUREAUCRACY AND POLICY  

                                (Midterm assignments due)

 

 

                   *The Policy Crucible

                   *Key Actors

                   *The Role of Organizations in Policy

 

                   Readings:

 

                   Wilson, Preface and Parts I-III.

 

 

IX –   October 23 – POLICY IN THE EXECUTIVE AGENCIES

 

                *Evolution of bureaucracies

                   *Turf

                   *Political Context

                   *Political/organizational Environment

 

                   Readings:

 

                   Wilson, Parts IV-VI.

 

 

X  & XI –  October 30 & November 6 – THE APPLICATION OF

                          THEORY TO THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC POLICY

 

                   *Case Studies

                   *Critiques

 

                   Readings:

 

                   Clemons and McBeth, Parts I-III. (Different

                   sections to be assigned to separate class groups).

 

 

 

XII – November 13 – THE APPLICATION OF PUBLIC POLICY  

          THEORIES TO INTERNATIONAL  ISSUES

 

                   *The Politics of Protest

                   *The Effects of Globalization

                  

                   Readings:

 

                   Dealer’s Choice – to be assigned in class

 

                    Recommended:

                 

                    Wesley K. Clark, Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo,

                         and  the Future of Combat. Paperback, Public Affairs Press,

                         2002.

 

 

XIII – November 20 – Class  presentations of papers

 

XIV – November 27  – Class presentations of papers

 

XV – December 4  – Class presentations of papers (papers due)