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Prelims 2011-12

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Department of Politics International Relations

Honour School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Honour School of Modern History and Politics

Introduction to Politics:

The Theory and Practice of Democracy (PPE)

Analysis of Democratic Institutions (HP)

Academic Year 2011-12

Course provider: Dr Marc Stears, University College, E-mail: marc.stears@univ.ox.ac.uk. Phone: (2)

76647.

From Examination Decrees and Regulations:

PPE:

Introduction to Politics: The Theory and Practice of Democracy

The paper will contain two sections. Candidates are required to answer four questions, of which at least

one must be from section (a) and two from section (b). Candidates choosing to answer two questions

from section (b) must show knowledge of at least two of the following political systems: the United

States of America; the United Kingdom; France; Germany. Candidates choosing to answer three

questions from section (b) must show knowledge of at least three of the following political systems: the

United States of America; the United Kingdom; France; Germany.

(a) Theorizing the Democratic State

Questions will be set on the following topics: the nature and grounds of democracy; power and

influence in the democratic state; ideology; civil society; public choice approaches to democracy; the

nature and limits of liberty. Questions will also be set on the following texts: J. J. Rousseau, The Social

Contract; J. S. Mill, On Liberty; Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America; Karl Marx and Friedrich

Engels, The German Ideology; The Communist Manifesto; Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon; Preface to a

Critique of Political Economy; The Civil War in France; On Bakunin’s ‚Statism and Anarchy‛; Critique of the

Gotha Programme.

(b) Analysis of Democratic Institutions

Questions will be set on the following topics: the state and its institutions (executives, legislatures,

parties and party systems, courts, constitutions and centre-periphery relations); political representation;

the politics of instability; policy continuity and policy change; democratic transitions and consolidation.

Questions will also be set on these topics with reference to the following political systems: the United

States of America; the United Kingdom; France; Germany.

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Prelims 2011-12

History and Politics:

Analysis of Democratic Institutions:

Candidates will be required to answer four questions drawn from section 2 of the paper 'Introduction to

Politics: The Theory and Practice of Democracy' as specified for the Preliminary Examination for

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

SECTION 1: THEORIZING DEMOCRACY

Aims and objectives

Section 1 aims to familiarise students with major theoretical approaches to and issues in understanding

democracy. Specifically, students will be encouraged:

1. to acquire knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts which inform theoretical and

empirical discussion of democracy, such as 'democracy', 'liberty', and 'power';

2. to acquire knowledge and understanding of at least some of the core normative issues which

concern democratic politics, such as the desirability of democracy itself, and the legitimate scope

of state authority in a democracy;

3. to acquire knowledge and understanding of major theoretical frameworks used to understand the

distribution and exercise of power in a democratic state, including Marxist, pluralist and public

choice approaches;

4. to acquire knowledge and understanding of the work of selected major political thinkers who have

addressed major theoretical issues concerning democratic government; and,

5. to acquire knowledge and understanding of the nature of ideology and its role in democratic politics

including its role in the interpretation of political concepts.

Through a combination of lectures, classes and tutorials, students will acquire a basic grounding in all of

these topics, though there will be considerable flexibility as to which topics students, in consultation

with their tutors, elect to concentrate on in preparation for the Prelim exam.

Structure

The syllabus for section 1 is organized into six major themes. Questions will be asked on each of these

themes in the Prelims exam (see the advice on examining contained under each theme heading below).

In addition questions will be asked on certain texts (Rousseau, Social Contract, Tocqueville, Democracy in

America, Mill, On Liberty, and selections from Marx): these are referred to as basic texts. The basic texts

have a clear relationship to the major themes, and students are encouraged to study texts and themes in

conjunction, e.g., a student might spend 1 or 2 tutorials on The Social Contract and 1 or 2 tutorials on the

nature and grounds of democracy. But the texts may also be studied in their own right, and questions on

the texts in the exam may invite students to discuss any significant question raised by the texts.

Thorough exploration of a given theme or basic text may reasonably take up more than one class or

tutorial. It is necessary, therefore, for tutors to exercise a degree of selectivity in the themes and texts

they teach. They can do so, however, assured that no theme or basic text will go uncovered in the Prelim

exam.

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Prelims 2011-12

Note:

*** indicates a basic text.

* indicates a reading that is particularly recommended.

1. THE NATURE AND GROUNDS OF DEMOCRACY

1.1 ASSOCIATED BASIC TEXT: ROUSSEAU'S THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

Basic reading:

*** Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, The Social Contract, 1762, especially Book 1, chapters 6-8, Book 2, Book 3,

chapters 10-18, Book 4 (for example, the Oxford Classics edition, edited by C. Betts, 1994, or the

Penguin edition edited by M. Cranston, 1968).

* Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 'Political Economy', 1754 (for example in Betts, ed., The Social Contract, 1994).

Cassirer, Ernst, The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (2nd ed.), 1989.

* Cobban, Alfred, Rousseau and the Modern State (2nd ed.), 1970, especially chapters 1-3.

Gray, John, and Pelczynski, Zbigniew, eds., Conceptions of Liberty in Political Philosophy, 1984, chapter on

Rousseau.

* Hall, John, Rousseau: An Introduction to his Political Philosophy, 1973.

* Held, David, Models of Democracy, 1996, chapter 2.

* Levine, Andrew, Engaging Political Philosophy: From Hobbes to Rawls, 2002, chapter 2..

Masters, Roger, The Political Philosophy of Rousseau, 1968.

* Plamenatz, John, Man and Society: A Critical Examination of Some Important Social and Political Theories

from Machiavelli to Marx, Volume 1, 1966, chapter on Rousseau.

Waldron, Jeremy, 'Rights and majorities: Rousseau revisited', in Waldron, J., Liberal rights: collected papers,

1981-1991, 1993.

Wokler, Robert, Rousseau and Liberty, 1995, chapters by Mason, Wokler, Cranston, Crocker and

Hampsher-Monk.

Wolff, Jonathan, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, 1996, chapter 3.

Study questions:

What problem is Rousseau seeking to solve in The Social Contract?

What does Rousseau mean by the 'General Will'? Is it necessary that there is consensus among

citizens if the ‘General Will’ is to prevail?

In what senses are individual citizens in Rousseau’s state ‘free’?

Is it fair to say that while Rousseau aims for freedom in The Social Contract, the state he envisages

would be highly oppressive?

1.2 DEMOCRACY: WHAT IS IT? IS IT DESIRABLE?

Basic reading:

* Barry, Brian, 'Is Democracy Special?', in Barry, B., Democracy and Power: Essays in Political Theory Vol 1

1989.

* Birch, Anthony H., The Concepts and Theories of Modern Democracy, 1993, Part II.

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Budge, Ian, 'Direct Democracy: Setting Appropriate Terms of Debate', in Held, David, Prospects for

democracy: North, South, East, West, 1993.

* Cohen, Joshua, ‘Deliberative Democracy’, in Hamlin, Alan P. and Pettit, Philip, The Good polity:

normative analysis of the state, 1989.

Dahl, Robert, On Democracy, 1998, Parts I-III.

* Fishkin, James S., Democracy and deliberation: new directions for democratic reform, 1991, chapters 1-6, 8.

* Held, David, Models of Democracy (2nd edn), 1996, chapters 1-6.

McLean, Iain, Public Choice: An Introduction, 1987, chapters 3-5, 8.

Mill, John Stuart, On Representative Government (for example, in the Everyman edition of John Stuart Mill,

Utilitarianism, edited by H. Acton, 1972).

* Miller, David, 'Deliberative Democracy and Social Choice', Political Studies, 40:(special issue), 1992, also

in David Held, ed., Prospects for Democracy, 1993.

Schmitt, Carl The crisis of parliamentary democracy, Ellen Kennedy trans. and ed., 1988.

* Przeworski, Adam, 'Minimalist Conception of Democracy: A Defense', in Ian Shapiro and Casiano

Hacker-Cordon, eds., Democracy’s Value, 1999.

* Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, The Social Contract, 1762, especially Book 1, chapters 6-8, Book 2, Book 3,

chapters 10-18, Book 4 (for example, the Oxford Classics edition, edited by C. Betts, 1994, or the

Penguin edition edited by M. Cranston, 1968).

* Schumpeter, Joseph, ‘Two Concepts of Democracy’, in Anthony Quinton, ed., Political Philosophy, 1985.

or in Capitalism Socialism and Democracy 1943 new ed 1996 chs XXI and XXII

Study questions:

Is democracy simply about majority rule?

What is the role of representation in a democracy?

What is the role, if any, of elites in a democracy?

Is democracy necessary for liberty?

Can a plausible case be made for direct or participatory democracy?

2. POWER AND INFLUENCE IN A DEMOCRATIC STATE

2.1 ASSOCIATED BASIC TEXT: SELECTED TEXTS OF KARL MARX

Basic reading:

*** Karl Marx, selections from McLellan, David, ed., Karl Marx: selected writings, 2000: number 14 (The

German Ideology), number 18 (The Communist Manifesto), number 25 (The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis

Bonaparte), number 30 (Preface to A Critique of Political Economy), number 37 (The Civil War in France),

number 39 (on Bakunin's Statism and Anarchy), number 40 (Critique of the Gotha Program).

* Acton, H. B., The illusion of the epoch: Marxism-Leninism as a philosophical creed, 1955, Part II, 133-172.

* Berlin, Isaiah, Karl Marx: his life and environment, (4th edn.), 1978, especially chapters 3-7.

Carver, Terrell, ed., The Cambridge companion to Marx, 1991, chapters by Miller and Gilbert.

* Cohen, Gerald A., 'Forces and Relations of Production', in his History, labour and freedom: themes from

Marx, 1988.

Cohen, G. A., Karl Marx's theory of history: a defence, 1978.

Cohen, Joshua, 'review of Karl Marx's Theory of History', Journal of Philosophy, 79, 1980, pp. 253-273.

* Elster, Jon, An Introduction to Karl Marx, 1986.

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Prelims 2011-12

* Levine, Andrew, Engaging Political Philosophy: From Hobbes to Rawls, 2002, chapter on Marx.

* Miliband, Ralph, 'Marx and the State', in Bottomore, T. B., Karl Marx, 1979.

Miller, Richard, ‘Democracy and Class Dictatorship’, from Paul, E. F., Paul, J., Miller F. D., and Ahrens,

J., eds., Marxism and Liberalism, 1986 (on dictatorship of proletariat).

Plamenatz, John Petrov, Man and society: a critical examination of some important social and political theories

from Machiavelli to Marx, 1966, chapter on Marx.

Shaw, William, Marx's Theory of History, 1978, chapters 1-3.

Singer, Peter, Karl Marx, 1980.

Wood, Allen, Karl Marx, 1981.

Study questions:

Assess Marx’s claim that the capitalist state is ‘but a committee for managing the common affairs

of the whole bourgeoisie’.

Explain Marx’s account of the relationship between technological and political change.

Why should the capitalist state give way to communist society, according to Marx?

Is Marx right to think that the state could wither away?

Explain and evaluate Marx’s theory of the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’.

2.2 WHO RULES IN A DEMOCRACY?

Basic reading:

Bachrach, Peter and Baratz, Morton S., Power and poverty: theory and practice, 1970, Part I.

* Birch, Anthony Harold, The concepts and theories of modern democracy, 1993, Part III.

Dahl, Robert Alan, Who governs?: democracy and power in an American city, 1961.

* Ham, Christopher and Hill, Michael J., The policy process in the modern capitalist state, 1984, chapters 2-4.

* Lukes, Steven, Power: A Radical View, 1974.

* Marx, Karl, selections from McLellan, D., ed., Karl Marx: Selected Writings, 2000: number 18 (The

Communist Manifesto), number 25 (The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte), number 30 (Preface to A

Critique of Political Economy), number 37 (The Civil War in France), number 39 (on Bakunin's Statism and

Anarchy), number 40 (Critique of the Gotha Program).

* Miliband, Ralph, The State in Capitalist Society, 1969.

Mills, C. Wright, The Power Elite, 1956.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, 1755 (for example, in the Penguin edition

edited by M. Cranston, 1984).

Study questions:

How can we determine which social groups have the most power in a democratic state?

Which social groups do have most power in a democratic state?

What are the sources of power in a democratic state?

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Prelims 2011-12

3. IDEOLOGY AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICS

3.1 THE NATURE OF IDEOLOGY

Basic reading:

Hamilton, M, 'The Elements of the Concept of Ideology', Political Studies, 35, 1987.

* Symposium, 'Ideological Communities and Political Contexts', Journal of Political Ideologies, 4, 1999.

* Eatwell, Roger and Wright, Anthony eds., Contemporary Political Ideologies (2nd ed.), 1999.

* Freeden, Michael, Ideologies and Political Theory: A Conceptual Approach, 1996, chapters 1, 2 and 4.

Geertz, Clifford, 'Ideology as a Cultural System', in The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, 1993.

* Marx, Karl and Engels, Friedrich, The German Ideology (for example, in McLellan, D., ed., Karl Marx:

Selected Writings, (2nd ed.) 2000).

Mullins, Willard, 'On the Concept of Ideology in Political Science', American Political Science Review, 66:2,

1972, pp. 498-510.

de Tocqueville, Alexis, Democracy in America, Vol. 2, Part 1, chapters 2-4; Part 3, chapters 1-4; Part 4,

chapters 1-3 (for example, in the Harper and Row Perennial Library edition, edited by J. P. Mayer,

1988).

Study questions:

All ideologies appear to promote the idea of liberty. To what extent does this suggest that all

ideologies are similar?

Is democratic politics inevitably ideological? Why do ideological differences persist?

3.2 IDEOLOGY AND POLITICAL PRACTICE

Basic reading:

Althusser, Louis, 'Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses', in Althusser, Louis and Brewster, Ben,

Lenin and philosophy, and other essays, 1971.

* Dunn, John, 'Understanding Revolutions', in his Rethinking Modern Political Theory: Essays 1979-1983,

1985.

* Havel, Vaclav, 'The Power of the Powerless', in Havel, Václav, Keane, John and Lukes, Steven, eds., The

Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central-Eastern Europe, 1985.

Marx, Karl and Engels, Friedrich, The German Ideology and The Communist Manifesto (for example in

McLellan, D. ed., Karl Marx: Selected Writings, (2nd ed.) 2000).

* Rosen, Michael, On Voluntary Servitude: False Consciousness and the Theory of Ideology, 1996, chapters 1,2,6

and 8.

Scott, James, Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts, 1990, chapters 1, 3 and 4.

Wollstonecraft, Mary, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (for example, in Political Writings, edited by

Janet Todd, 1994), chapters 1, 4, 8-9.

Study questions:

'When people don’t get what they need from political systems, you’d expect them to do

something about it. In practice, and in ways which are disturbing for our faith in liberal

democracy, this expectation is often disappointed.' Discuss.

Does the concept of ideology help us to explain why people sometimes tolerate political regimes

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Prelims 2011-12

that harm or fail to advance their interests?

Do capitalist democracies exhibit a ‘dominant ideology’?

4. DEMOCRACY AND ASSOCIATIONAL LIFE

4.1 ASSOCIATED BASIC TEXT: TOCQUEVILLE'S DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA

Basic reading:

*** de Tocqueville, Alexis, Democracy in America, Volume 1, Author’s Introduction; Part 1, chapters 3-5;

Part 2, chapters 6-9, Volume 2, Part 2, chapters 1-8; Part 4, chapters 1-8.

Lively, Jack, The Social and Political Thought of Alexis de Tocqueville, 1965.

* Mill, John Stuart, 'Tocqueville on ‘Democracy in America’', in his Dissertations and Discussions: Political,

Philosophical and Historical , 1973, (New York, Haskell edition).

Siedentop, Larry, Tocqueville, 1994.

* Siedentop, Larry, 'Two Liberal Traditions', in Ryan, A., ed., The Idea of Freedom: Essays in Honour of Isaiah

Berlin, 1979.

Welch, Cheryl, De Tocqueville, 2001, especially chapter 2..

Study questions:

Is de Tocqueville an optimist or a pessimist about the prospects for democracy?

What, in de Tocqueville’s view, are the virtues and what are the vices of democratic government?

What is the role of freedom in de Tocqueville’s theory of democracy?

4.2 THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

Basic reading:

Almond, Gabriel A., and Verba, Sidney, The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five

Nations, 1965.

Berman, Sheri, 'Civil Society and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic', World Politics, 49:3, 1997, pp. 401-

429.

Dahl, Robert, On Democracy, 1998, Part IV.

* de Tocqueville, Alexis, Democracy in America, Volume 1, Author’s Introduction; Part 1, chapters 3-5;

Part 2, chapters 6-9, Volume 2, Part 2, chapters 1-8; Part 4, chapters 1-8.

* Deakin, Nicholas, In Search of Civil Society, 2001, chapters 3-4.

Gutmann, Amy, Freedom of Association, 1998, chapters by Gutmann, Rosenblum, Kymlicka, and Bell.

Kaviraj, Sudipta, and Khilnani, Sunil, eds., Civil Society: History and Possibilities, 2001, especially chapters

1, 8, 10, 12-15.

Hirst, Paul Q., Associative Democracy: New Forms of Economic and Social Governance, 1994.

* Putnam, Robert D., Leonardi, Robert, and Nanetti, Raffaella, Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in

Modern Italy, 1993, especially chapters 3-6.

* Putnam, Robert D., Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, 2000, especially

chapters 2-4, 8, 11-15, 21-24.

* Rosenblum, Nancy L., Membership and Morals: The Personal Uses of Pluralism in America, 1998, chapters 1-

3 and Conclusion.

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Prelims 2011-12

Skocpol, Theda, 'The G.I. Bill and U.S. Social Policy, Past and Future', Social Philosophy and Policy, 14:(2),

1997, pp. 95-115.

* Skocpol, Theda, and Fiorina, Morris P., eds., Civic Engagement in American Democracy, 1999,

Introduction by Skocpol and Fiorina, 'Making Sense of the Civic Engagement Debate', plus essays

'Advocates without Members: The Recent Transformation of American Civic Life', and 'Extreme

Voices: The Dark Side of Civic Engagement'.

* Walzer, Michael, 'The Civil Society Argument', in Ronald Beiner, ed., Theorizing Citizenship, 1995.

Study questions:

Why do some political scientists think that a strong 'civil society' is essential to effective

democratic government? Are they right to think so?

In what way or ways does a vibrant associational life contribute to the health of a democratic

polity?

What is 'civic engagement'? How have political scientists attempted to explain differences across

democracies and/or over time in the level and quality of civic engagement?

5. THE PUBLIC CHOICE APPROACH TO DEMOCRACY

Basic reading:

Black, Duncan, The Theory of Committees and Elections (2nd edn.), 1998, Introduction by Iain McLean,

Alistair McMillan and and Burt L. Monroe.

* Downs, Anthony, An Economic Theory of Democracy, 1957, chapters 1-4.

Dunleavy, Patrick, Democracy, Bureaucracy and Public Choice: Economic Explanations in Political Science,

1991, chapters 2-3 (theory of groups) and 5 (median voter theorem).

Green, Donald P. and Shapiro, Ian, Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory: A Critique of Applications in

Political Science, 1994, chapters 1-2, 5 (theory of groups), 7 (median voter theorem).

McLean, Iain, Public Choice: An Introduction, 1987, chapters 1, 3-5.

* Madison, James, The Federalist Papers, Nos. 10 and 51 (for example, in the Everyman edition: Hamilton,

Alexander, et al., The Federalist : Or, the New Constitution, 1992).

Olson, Mancur, Power and Prosperity : Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships, 2000, chapters 1-

5.

* Olson, Mancur, The Logic of Collective Action : Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, 1965, especially

chapters 1-2, 5-6.

Study questions:

What is the median voter theorem? Is it valid?

'Ambition must be made to counteract ambition' (James Madison, The Federalist 51). What did

Madison mean?

Can rational choice theory help explain why some interests in society are better organized than

others?

Does the public choice approach to democracy assume that everyone is selfish?

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Prelims 2011-12

6. LIBERTY: ITS NATURE AND ITS LIMITS

6.1 THE CONCEPT OF LIBERTY

Basic reading:

*Berlin, Isaiah, ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’, in Berlin, Isaiah, Four Essays on Liberty, 1969.

Gray, Tim, Freedom, 1990.

Green, T.H., ‘Liberal Legislation and Freedom of Contract’, in David Miller, ed., Liberty, 1991.

Hobbes, Thomas, Leviathan, chapter 21, 1651 (for example, the Penguin edition edited by C.B.

MacPherson, 1968).

* MacCallum, Gerald, ‘Negative and Positive Freedom’, in Miller, ed., Liberty, 1991, also in The

Philosophical Review, 76:3, 1967, pp. 312-334.

* Miller, David, ‘Introduction’, in Miller, ed., Liberty, 1991.

Pettit, Philip, ‘Republican Freedom and Contestatory Democracy’, in Shapiro, Ian and Hacker-Cordón,

Casiano, eds., Democracy's Value, 1999.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, The Social Contract, 1762, Book 1, chapters 6-8 (for example, in the Penguin

edition edited by M. Cranston, 1968).

Skinner, Quentin, Liberty Before Liberalism, 1998, especially chapter 2..

Steiner, Hillel, 'Individual Liberty', in Miller, ed., Liberty, 1991.

Taylor, Charles, ‘What’s Wrong with Negative Liberty’, in Miller, ed., Liberty, 1991.

Waldron, Jeremy, ‘Homelessness and the issue of freedom’, in Waldron, Jeremy, Liberal Rights: Collected

Papers, 1981-1991, 1993.

Study questions:

Is there a single concept of liberty underpinning the many ways in which the term is used by

political thinkers?

Is liberty primarily about the absence of law or the authorship of law?

How (if at all) do economic circumstances affect an individual’s liberty?

6.2 ASSOCIATED BASIC TEXT: MILL'S ON LIBERTY

Basic reading:

*** John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859 (for example, the Penguin edition edited by G. Himmelfarb, 1985).

Berlin, Isaiah, ‘John Stuart Mill and the Ends of Life’, in Alan Ryan, ed., Mill, 1997, and also in Berlin,

Four Essays on Liberty, 1969.

* Gray, John, Mill on Liberty: A Defence (2nd edition), 1996.

Gray, John, and Smith, G., On Liberty in Focus, 1991.

Gray, John, and Pelczynski, Zbigniew, eds., Conceptions of Liberty in Political Philosophy, 1984, chapter on

Mill.

Levine, Andrew, Engaging Political Philosophy: From Hobbes to Rawls, 2002, chapter on Mill.

* Rees, John C., ‘The Principle of Liberty’, in Ryan, ed., Mill, 1997, and also published as 'A Re-Reading

of Mill on Liberty', Political Studies, 8, 1960, pp. 113-129.

Ryan, Alan, The Philosophy of John Stuart Mill (2nd edition), 1998, chapter 12..

Ryan, Alan, J.S. Mill, 1974.

Ten, C., Mill on Liberty, 1980.

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Waldron, Jeremy, ‘Mill and the Value of Moral Distress’, in Ryan, ed., Mill, 1997. Also in Political Studies,

35, 1987, pp. 310-423, and in Waldron, Jeremy, Liberal Rights: Collected Papers, 1981-1991, 1993.

Study questions:

Is Mill’s harm principle a clear and plausible basis for evaluating the community’s efforts to

restrict individual freedom?

How persuasive is Mill’s defence of freedom of expression?

What place does ‘rationality’ have in Mill’s theory of liberty?

Does Mill make a compelling case against state paternalism?

Does Mill's celebration of individuality subvert the needs of citizenship?

6.3 MORE ON THE LIMITS OF LIBERTY

Basic reading:

This section is best studied in conjunction with section 6.2 and presupposes good knowledge

of Mill's On Liberty.

* Dworkin, Gerald, ‘Paternalism’, in Wasserstrom, Richard A., ed., Morality and the Law, 1971 (on

paternalism as a basis for restricting freedom).

* Devlin, Patrick, The Enforcement of Morals, 1965 (on community standards of morality as a basis for

restricting freedom).

* Feinberg, Joel, 'Harmless Wrongdoing and Offensive Nuisances', in Feinberg, Joel, Rights, Justice, and

the Bounds of Liberty: Essays in Social Philosophy, 1980 (on offence as basis for restricting freedom).

Fiss, Owen M., The Irony of Free Speech, 1996, chapter 1.

MacKinnon, Catharine A., Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law, 1987, pp. 127-213 (on free

speech and pornography).

* Parekh, Bhiku, 'The Rushdie Affair: Research Agenda for Political Philosophy', Political Studies, 38,

1990, pp. 695-709, also in Kymlicka, Will, ed., The Rights of Minority Cultures, 1995, chapter 14 (on

offence and free speech).

* Waldron, Jeremy, 'Rushdie and Religion', in Waldron, Jeremy, Liberal Rights: Collected Papers, 1981-1991,

1993 (on offence and free speech).

* Wolff, Jonathan, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, 1996, chapter 4.

Study questions:

May and should the state restrict people’s freedom for their own good?

Is it proper for law to enforce a community’s sense of morality?

Should the state restrict offensive speech?

Can speech harm? If so, should it be restricted?

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SECTION 2: ANALYSIS OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS

Aims and Objectives:

Section 2 of the revised paper focuses upon the practice of democracy - the institutions, processes and

political outputs - in the UK, France, Germany and the United States. The aims are: (i) to acquire an

understanding of the formal institutions and political processes in these countries through an analysis of

several discrete themes; and (ii), as a secondary aim, to encourage students to think critically about how

the concepts analysed in section 1 influence political structures and processes.

The general questions that underpin section 2 are:

What are the major aims of liberal democratic institutions?

How do different institutional arrangements seek to pursue liberal democratic aims? How do

electoral systems transfer preferences? How (and how well) do legislatures check executives?

How effectively do different bureaucratic structures design and implement policy?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of these different liberal democratic forms? How effective

have they been in pursuing (a) aims common to all liberal democracies and (b) aims particular to

the individual cases?

The specific objectives of Section 2 are:

To introduce students to the nature and functioning of liberal democratic institutions.

To develop students' understanding of the necessary conditions for democratic government and

political stability.

To develop students' analytical skills.

To introduce students to social science methodology in the context of historical explanation and

comparative analysis.

Structure:

The syllabus for Section 2 will be organized into ten sections:

1. Methods: the Study of Politics

2. The State and its Institutions I: Executives

3. The State and its Institutions II: Legislatures

4. The State and its Institutions III: Parties and Party Systems

5. The State and its Institutions IV: Courts and Constitutions

6. The State and its Institutions V: Centre-Periphery Relations

7. Political Representation

8. The Politics of Instability

9. Policy Continuity and Policy Change

10. Institutional & Democratic Consolidation

Other than the first (optional) topic on methods, each topic can be approached by way of a single

country case study, and there are sufficient case studies provided to allow tutors and students who wish

to do so to teach the section 2 syllabus by focusing just on two countries. Equally, for those who wish to

do so, there is scope for approaching the topics comparatively. The examination will contain both

questions that can be answered with reference to a single country and those that require an explicitly

comparative answer.

1 METHODS IN THE STUDY OF POLITICS

Politics overlaps with but is distinct from other disciplines such as history, sociology and anthropology. What are

the major methods employed in political analysis, and what advantages and disadvantages do they have?

Goodin, Robert E. and Klingemann, Hans-Dieter, A New Handbook of Political Science, 1996. ALSO

AVAILABLE ONLINE.

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Goodin and Klingeman 'Political Science: the Discipline.'

Rothstein, 'Political Institutions: An Overview.'

Weingast: 'Political Institutions: Rational Choice Perspectives.'

Carmines and Huckfeldt, 'Political Behaviour: an Overview.'

Mair, 'Comparative Politics: an Overview.'

Whitehead: 'Comparative Politics: Democratisation Studies.'

Alt and Asenia: 'Political Economy: An Overview.'

Jackson: 'Political Methodology: An Overview.'

2 THE STATE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS I: EXECUTIVES

Thematic Readings:

What are the distinctive features of parliamentary and presidential systems of government?

Elgie, Robert, 'Models of Executive Politics: A Framework for the Study of Executive Power Relations in

Parliamentary and Semi-Presidential Regimes', Political Studies, 45:2, 1997, pp. 217-231.

Lane, Jan-Erik, and Ersson, Svante The New Institutional Politics: Performance and Outcomes, 2000, chapter

6. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Lipjhart, Arend Parliamentary versus Presidential Government, 1992.

Rose, Richard, and Suleiman, Ezra. eds., Presidents and Prime Ministers, 1980.

France:

'During non-cohabitation, the French president is an elected dictator; during cohabitation, he is a powerless

monarch'. Discuss.

*Cole, A., Legalès, P. and Levy, J. eds., Developments in French Politics 3, 2005, chapters by Elgie and

Knapp.

*Elgie, Robert and Griggs, Steven, French Politics: Debates and Controversies, 2000, chapter 2.

*Wright, Vincent and Elgie, Robert, 'The French Presidency: the Changing Public Policy Environment', in

Robert Elgie ed., Electing the French President: The 1995 Presidential Election, 1996.

*Wright, Vincent and Knapp, Andrew, The Government and Politics of France (5th ed.), 2006, chapters 3, 4,

and 5. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Stevens, Anne, The Government and Politics of France (3rd ed.), 2003, chapter 3.

Germany:

'A Chancellor democracy.' Is this an accurate description of Germany? If so, why?

Clemens, Clay, and Paterson, William, The Kohl Chancellorship, 1998 (also available as a special issue of

German Politics, 7:1, 1998).

Goetz, K. H. 2003. 'Government at the Centre', in S. A. Padgett, G. Smith and W. Paterson, eds.,

Developments in German Politics 3, 2003.

Helms, L., 'The Changing Chancellorship: Resources and Constraints Revisited', in Padgett, Stephen and

Poguntke, Thomas, Continuity and Change in German Politics : Beyond the Politics of Centrality?: A

Festschrift for Gordon Smith, 2001.

Johnson, N., 'Kohl's Chancellorship',German Politics, 9:1, 2000, pp. 145-152.

13

Prelims 2011-12

Mayntz, Renate, 'Executive Leadership in Germany' in Rose, R., and Suleiman, E., eds., Presidents and

Prime Ministers, 1980.

**Padgett, Stephen, and Abromeit, Heidrun, Adenauer to Kohl: The Development of the German

Chancellorship, 1994.

Pulzer, Peter, German Politics 1945-1995, 1995, chapter 3.

Schmidt, Manfred, Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, 2003, chapter 2.

United Kingdom:

Where does decision-making power lie in the British executive?

*Rose, Richard, The Prime Minister in a Shrinking World (2001).

Burch, Martin, and Holliday, Ian, The British Cabinet System, 1996.

*Burch, M., and Holliday, I., ‘The Blair Government and the Core Executive’, Government and Opposition,

39: 1 (2004).

Heffernan, Richard, ‘Exploring (and Explaining) the Prime Minister’, British Journal of Politics and

International Relations 7:4 (2005).

Heffernan, Richard, ‘Why the Prime Minister cannot be a president: Comparing Institutional

Imperatives in Britain and the US’, Parliamentary Affairs 58: 1 (2005).

Foley, Michael, The British Presidency, 2000.

Burnham June and Pyper, Robert, Britain’s Modernised Civil Service, 2008.

*Richards, David, New Labour and the Civil Service, 2007.

Dowding, Keith, The Civil Service, 1995.

United States:

`The problem with the U.S. Presidency is that expectations always exceed capacity.' Discuss.

*Bowles, Nigel, The White House and Capitol Hill: The Politics of Presidential Persuasion, 1987.

Cronin, Thomas, and Genovese, Michael, The Paradoxes of the American Presidency, 1998.

Hart, John, The Presidential Branch: From Washington to Clinton, 1995.

*Jones, Charles O., The Presidency in a Separated System, 1994. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Neustadt, Richard, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to

Reagan, 1990.

*Neustadt, Richard, 'White House and Whitehall', in King, A., ed.,The New American Political System

(2nd ed.), 1990.

Schlesinger, Arthur, The Imperial Presidency, 1989.

*Skowronek, Stephen, The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton, 1997.

Pfiffner, James, The Modern Presidency 5th ed, New York, Wadsworth 2007.

Gillian Peele ‘The Presidency’ in Gillian Peele, Christopher J Bailey, Bruce Cain and B Guy Peters,

Developments in American Politics 7th Ed London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

McKay, David, American Politics and Society, (Chps 10 and 11), Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009

14

Prelims 2011-12

3 THE STATE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS II: LEGISLATURES

Thematic Readings

What best explains the ability of a legislature to scrutinise the actions of the executive?

Blondel, Jean Comparative Legislatures, 1973.

Lane, Jan-Erik, and Ersson, Svante, The New Institutional Politics: Performance and Outcomes, 2000,

chapter 7. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Norton, Philip, ed., Legislatures, 1990.

France:

Is the French Parliament powerless in the face of the executive?

Bell, David S., 'Parliamentary Democracy in France', Parliamentary Affairs, 57:3, 2004, pp. 533-579.

Cole, Alistair, French Politics and Society, 1998, chapter 6. JN2594.2.COL

Flynn, Gregory, ed., Remaking the Hexagon: the New France in the New Europe, 1995, chapter by Hoffmann.

*Frears, J., 'The French Parliament: Loyal Workhouse, Poor Watchdog', in West European Politics, 13:3,

1990. pp. 32-51. Per W

Hayward, Jack, De Gaulle to Mitterand, Presidential Power in France, 1993, chapter by Machin.

*Stevens, Anne, The Government and Politics of France (3rd ed.), 2003, chapter 7.

*Suleiman, Ezra ed., Parliaments and Parliamentarians in Democratic Politics, 1986, chapter on France.

Wright, Vincent and Knapp, Andrew,The Government and Politics of France (5th ed.), 2006, chapter 6. ALSO

AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Germany:

"Power sharing"- is that an accurate description of the relationship between Bundestag and Bundesrat?

von Beyme, K., 'Interest Groups in Parliamentary Decisions in the German Bundestag', Government and

Opposition, 33:1, 1998, pp. 38-55.

*von Beyme, K., The Legislator: German Parliament as a Centre of Political Decision Making, 1998.

Loewenberg, Gerhard, Parliament in the German Political System, 1966.

Saalfeld, T., 'The German Bundestag: Influence and Accountability in a Complex Environment', in

Norton, P. , ed., Parliaments and Governments in Western Europe, 1998.

Schmidt, Manfred, Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, 2003, chapter 3.

Sturm, R., 'Divided Government in Germany: The Case of the Bundesrat', in Elgie, R., ed., Divided

Government in Comparative Perspective , 2001.ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

*Thaysen Uwe, Davidson, Roger and Livingston, Robert eds., The U.S. Congress and the German

Bundestag: Comparisons of Democratic Processes, 1990, chapters 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15.

United Kingdom:

In what ways, if any, is the UK Parliament more than the instrument of party leaders?

*Norton, Philip, Parliament in British Politics, 2005.

*Bogdanor, Vernon, The New British Constitution, 2009, chapter 6.

Baldwin, N, Parliament in the 21st Century, 2005.

15

Prelims 2011-12

*Brazier, A et al., New Politics, New Parliament? A Review of Parliamentary Modernisation since 1997, 2005.

Cowley, Philip, Revolts and Rebellions: Parliamentary Voting Under Blair, 2002.

Cowley, Philip, The Rebels: How Blair Mislaid his Majority, 2005.

United States:

Does the Congressional committee structure render policy-making more efficient?

*Davidson, Roger, The Postreform Congress, 1992.

Fenno, Richard, Home Style: House Members in Their Districts, 1978.

Hall, Richard, Participation in Congress, 1996.

*McCubbins, Mathew and Sullivan, Terry, Congress: Structure and Policy, 1987.

*Mayhew, David, Divided We Govern: Party Control, Lawmaking, and Investigations, 1946-1990, 1991.

*Peterson, Mark, Legislating Together: The White House and Capitol Hill from Eisenhower to Reagan, 1990.

Smith, Steven, Call to Order: Floor Politics in the House and Senate, 1989.

Sundquist, James, The Decline and Resurgence of Congress, 1981.

Mann, Thomas E and Norman J Ornstein, The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and

How To Get It Back on Track New York OUP 2006

English, Ross, ‘Congress’ in G Peele et al, Developments in American Politics 7th Ed

4 THE STATE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS III: PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEMS

Thematic Readings

Does the number of parties in a party system matter?

Dunleavy, Patrick, Democracy, Bureaucracy Public Choice: Economic Explanations in Political Science, 1991,

chapters 4, and 5.

Katz, Richard, and Mair, Peter, How Parties Organise: Change and Adaptation in Party Organizations in

Western Democracies, 1994, chapter 1.

Ware, Alan, Political Parties and Party Systems, 1996.

France:

How has the French party system changed since 1981?

Andersen, R. et al, 'Values, Cleavages and Party Choice in France', French Politics 1:1, 2003, pp. 83-114

(and the reply by Grunberg).

Cole, A., Legalès, P. and Levy, J. eds., Developments in French Politics 3, 2005, chapters by Haegel, Evans

and Mayer.

*Elgie, Robert and Griggs, Steven, French Politics: Debates and Controversies, 2000, chapters 5 and 6.

Grunberg, G. and Schweisguth, E., 'French Political Space: Two, Three or Four Blocs?', French Politics 1:3,

2003, pp. 331-347.

Hazareesingh, Sudhir, Political Traditions in Modern France, 1994, chapters 9-11.

Knapp, Andrew, Parties and the Party System in France, 2004.

Stevens, Anne, The Government and Politics of France (3rd ed.), 2003, chapters 8 and 9.

Wright, Vincent and Knapp, Andrew, The Government and Politics of France (5th ed.), 2006, chapters 7, 8,

and 9. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

16

Prelims 2011-12

Germany:

A well-upholstered oligarchy.' (Nevil Johnson). Is this an accurate description of German parties?

*Braunthal, Gerard, Parties and Politics in Modern Germany, 1996.

*Conradt, David et al eds., Power Shift in Germany: The 1998 Election and the End of the Kohl Era, 2000.

Gapper, S., 'The Rise and Fall of Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism', German Politics, 12:2, 2003,

pp. 65-85.

Padgett, S. A., 'Germany: Modernising the Left by Stealth', Parliamentary Affairs, 56:1, 2003, pp. 38-57.

*Padgett, S., 'The Boundaries of Stability: The Party System Before and After the 1998 Bundestagswahl',

German Politics, 8:2, 1999, pp. 88-107.

Roberts, G. K., 'Taken at the Flood? The German General Election 2002', Government and Opposition, 38:1,

2003, pp. 53-72.

Roberts, G. K., Party Politics in the New Germany, 1997.

Saalfeld, T., 'The German Party System - Continuity and Change', German Politics, 11:3, 2002, pp. 99-130.

Schmidt, Manfred, Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, 2003, pp. 131-159.

Smith, G., 'Parties and the Party System', in S. A. Padgett, G. Smith and W. Paterson, eds., Developments in

German Politics 3, 2003.

United Kingdom:

'The main dividing lines in the British party system are the same today as they were in 1945.' Is this true?

*Webb, Paul, The Modern British Party System, 2000.

*Ware, Alan, Political Parties and Party Systems, 1996, chapters 1-3, 9-12.

Maor, Moshe, Political Parties: Comparative Approaches and the British Experience 1997.

Norris, Pippa and Wlezien, Chris, Britain Votes, 2005, 2005.

Dunleavy, Patrick, ‘Facing up to multi-party politics’, Parliamentary Affairs, 58:3, 2005.

Webb, Paul, ‘Are British Political Parties in Decline?’, Party Politics, 1:3, 1995.

Dalton, R. J. and Wattenberg, M. Parties without Partisans, 2002.

Russell, Andrew, 'The Party System: Deep Frozen or Gently Thawing?', Parliamentary Affairs, 58:2 (2005).

United States:

If American political parties are weak, why are practically all its successful politicians either Republicans or

Democrats?

*Burnham, Walter Dean, Sorauf, Frank and Chambers, William, The American Party Systems: Stages of

Political Development (2nd ed.), 1975.

*Cotter, C. and Bibby, J., 'The Institutional Development of Parties and the Thesis of Party Decline",

Political Science Quarterly, 95:1, 1980, pp. 1-27.

Davis, M., 'Why the US Working Class is Different', New Left Review, 123, 1980, pp. 3-44. Per N

Epstein, Leon, Political Parties in the American Mold, 1986.

*Shafer, Byron and Claggett, William, The Two Majorities: The Issue Context of Modern American Politics,

1995.

Ware, Alan, Political Parties and Party Systems, 1996 (sections on the USA).

Ware, Alan, The Breakdown of Democratic Party Organisation, 1940-1980, 1985.

*Wattenberg, Martin, The Decline of American Political Parties 1952-1996, 1998.

17

Prelims 2011-12

McKay, David, American Politics and Society, Chps 5 and 6.

Cain, Bruce and Darshan J Goux ‘Parties in an Era of Renewed Partisanship’ in G Peele et al,

Developments in American Politics 7th Ed

The radical right in Western Europe:

How do you account for the resurgence of the radical right in Europe in recent years?

*Hainsworth, Paul. (ed.) The Politics of the Extreme Right: From the Margins to the Mainstream, 2000,

(Introduction).

*Betz, Hans-Georg, and Stefan Immerfall (eds.), The New Politics of the Right: Neo-Populist Parties and

Movements in Established Democracies, 1998.

Betz, Hans-Georg, Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe,1994.

Beyme, Klaus von (ed.). Right-wing extremism in Western Europe, 1988.

Hainsworth, Paul (ed.) The Extreme Right in Europe and the USA, 1992.

*Eatwell, Roger. 'The Rebirth of the 'Extreme Right' in Western Europe', Parliamentary Affairs, 53:3, 2000,

pp. 407-425.

*Ignazi, Piero. 'The Silent Counter-Revolution: Hypotheses on the Emergence of Extreme Right-Wing

Parties in Europe', European Journal of Political Research, 22:1, 1992, pp. 3-34.

*Karapin, R. 'Radical-right and neo-fascist political parties in Western Europe', Comparative Politics, 30:2,

1998, pp. 213-234.

*Taggart, Paul, 'New Populist Parties in Europe', West European Politics, 18:1, 1995, pp. 34-51. Per W.

5 THE STATE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS IV: COURTS AND CONSTITUTIONS

Thematic Readings

'The impact of constitutional decisions on day-to-day politics is negligible.' Discuss.

Stone Sweet, Alec, Governing with Judges: Constitutional Politics in Europe, 2000. ALSO AVAILABLE

ONLINE.

Tate, C. Neal and Vallender, Torbjorn, eds., The Global Expansion of Judicial Power, 1995. ALSO

AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Volcansek, Mary, ed., Judicial Politics and Policy-Making in Western Europe, 1992.

France:

Does the French constitution tell us anything about the distribution of power in France that we could not have

worked out without reading it?

**Debre, Michel, 'The Constitution of 1958: Its raison d'etre and How it Evolved', in William Andrews and

Stanley Hoffmann eds., The Impact of the Fifth Republic on France, 1981.

*Hoffmann, Stanley, 'The Institutions of the Fifth Republic', in James Hollifield and George Ross eds.,

Searching for the New France, 1991.

Cole, Alistair, French Politics and Society, 1998, chapter 4.

*Hayward, Jack ed., De Gaulle to Mitterrand: Presidential Power in France, 1993.

Stevens, Anne, The Government and Politics of France, (3rd ed.) 2003, chapter 2.

18

Prelims 2011-12

Wright, Vincent and Knapp, Andrew, The Government and Politics of France (5th ed.), 2006, chapters 1

and 4. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Stone Sweet, Alec, The Birth of Judicial Politics in France: The Constitutional Council in Comparative

Perspective, 1992.

Germany:

Is the German Constitutional Court a super-legislature?

*Bark, Dennis, and Gress, David, A History of West Germany: Volume I - From Shadow to Substance, 1945-

1963, (2nd ed.) 1993, part III, chapter 1.

*Busch, A., 'The Grundgesetz After 50 Years: Analysing Changes in the German Constitution', German

Politics, 9:1, 2000, pp. 41-60.

Currie, David, The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1994, especially chapter 3.

Kommers, D. P., The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1997.

Kommers, D. P., 'The Federal Constitutional Court in the German Political System', Comparative Political

Studies, 26:4, 1994, pp. 470-491.

*Merkl, Peter, The Origin of the West German Republic, 1963. Schmidt, Manfred, Political Institutions in the

Federal Republic of Germany, 2003, chapter 4.

*German Politics, 3:3, 1994 (special issue), especially article by Götz & Cullen.

United Kingdom:

How far have the reforms of the New Labour Governments addressed weaknesses in the UK constitution?

*Bogdanor, Vernon, The New British Constitution, 2009.

Forman, Nigel, Constitutional Change in the UK, 2002.

*Hazell, Robert, Constitutional Futures Revisited: Britain’s Constitution to 2020, 2008.

Oliver, D., Constitutional Reform in the UK, 2003.

King, Anthony, Does the United Kingdom still have a Constitution?, 2001.

Sutherland, K, The Rape of the Constitution, 2000.

United States:

If the Constitution is the source of governmental power, and the judiciary interprets the Constitution, then the

judiciary is the most powerful branch of government." Discuss.

*Cox, Archibald, The Role of the Supreme Court in American Government, 1976.

*Fisher, Louis, Constitutional Conflicts Between Congress and the President, (5th ed.) 2007.

Hall, Kermit, ed., The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, 1992. ALSO AVAILABLE

ONLINE.

*Hamilton, Alexander et al, The Federalist Papers (Penguin edition 1987), numbers 10, 45-51, 78-81. ALSO

AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Hodder-Williams, Richard, The Politics of the US Supreme Court, 1980.

Neely, Richard, How Courts Govern America, 1981.

Vile, M. J., Constitutionalism and the Separation of Powers (2nd ed.), 1998.

*Yarbrough, Tinsley, The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution, 2000. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Toobin, Jeffrey, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court New York, Doubleday, 2007.

Greenburg, Jan Crawford, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the Supreme Court

19

Prelims 2011-12

(New York, Oenguin 2007)

Roosevelt, Kermit The Myth of Judicial Activism

Bonneau, Chris W and Tara W Stricko-Neubauer ‘The United States supreme Court: Continuity and

Change’ in G Peele et al, Developments in American Politics 7th Ed

6 THE STATE AND ITS INSTITUTIONS V: CENTRE-PERIPHERY RELATIONS

Thematic Readings:

'In most countries, the adoption of a federal structure ultimately creates more problems than it solves.' Discuss.

Elazar, Daniel, Exploring Federalism, 1991.

Peterson, Paul E., The Price of Federalism, 1995. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

France:

To understand where power in France lies, one never has to leave Paris. Is this true?

Cole, Alistair, French Politics and Society, 1998, chapter 8.

Cole, A., Legalès, P., and Levy, J. eds., Developments in French Politics 3, 2005, chapter by Legalès.

*Elgie, Robert and Griggs, Steven, French Politics: Debates and Controversies, 2000, chapter 4.

Le Galès, Patrick and Lequesne, Christian eds., Regions in Europe, 1998, chapter by Balme.

*Ladrech, R., 'Europeanization of Domestic Politics and Institutions: the Case of France', Journal of

Common Market Studies, 32:1, 1994, pp. 69-89.

**Loughlin, John and Mazey, Sonia, The End of the French Unitary State: Ten Years of Regionalization in

France (1982-1992), 1995.

Meny, Yves, 'The Republic and its Territory', in Hazareesingh, Sudhir ed., The Jacobin Legacy in Modern

France, 2002.

**de Montricher, N., 'Decentralization in France', Governance, 8:3, 1995, pp. 405-418. Per G

Stevens, Anne, The Government and Politics of France (3rd ed.), 2003, chapter 6.

Wright, Vincent and Knapp, Andrew, The Government and Politics of France (5th ed.), 2006, chapter 12.

ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Germany:

Where does power lie in the German federation?

*Benz, A., 'From Unitary to Asymmetric Federalism in Germany: Taking Stock After 50 Years', Publius:

the Journal of Federalism, 29:4, 1999, pp. 55-78.

Conradt, David, The German Polity (8th ed.), 2005, chapter 9.

*Goetz, K., 'National Governance and European Integration: Intergovernmental Relations in Germany',

Journal of Common Market Studies, 33:1, 1995, pp. 91-117.

Gunlicks, A., 'German Federalism after Reunification: The Legal Constitutional Response', Publius: the

Journal of Federalism, 24:2, 1994, pp. 81-98.

Gunlicks, A., The Länder and German Federalism, 2003.

**Jeffrey, Charlie, Recasting German Federalism: The Legacies of Unification, 1999.

Padgett et al, Developments in German Politics 3, 2003, chapter 2.

20

Prelims 2011-12

United Kingdom:

Has devolution since 1997 rectified the problem of excessive centralisation of power in the UK?

*Bogdanor, Vernon, Devolution in the United Kingdom, 2001.

*Bogdanor, Vernon, The New British Constitution, 2009, chapters 4 and 8.

Trench, Alan (ed.), Devolution and Power in the UK, 2007.

*Jeffery, C and Wincott, D, special issue of Publius: The Journal of Federalism on ‘Devolution in the United

Kingdom: statehood and citizenship in transition’, 36:1, 2006.

Hazell, Robert, Constitutional Futures Revisited: Britain’s Constitution to 2020, 2008.

Rawlings, B, Delineating Wales: Constitutional, Legal and Administrative Aspects of National Devolution, 2003.

Keating, M, The Government of Scotland, 2005.

Tonge, Jonathan, The New Northern Irish politics, 2005.

Hazell, Robert, The English Question, 2006.

United States:

`Despite periodic attempts to enhance their powers, state governments in the U.S.A. are little more than the local

administrators of federal programs.' Do you agree?

Brisbin, R., 'The Reconstitution of American Federalism? The Rehnquist Court and Federal-State

Relations, 1991-1997', Publius: the Journal of Federalism, 28:1, 1998, pp. 189-215.

*Caraley, D., 'Changing Conceptions of Federalism', Political Science Quarterly, 101:2, 1986, pp. 289-306.

*Conlan, Timothy, New Federalism: Intergovernmental Reform from Nixon to Reagan, 1988.

Davis, Solomon, The Federal Principle: A Journey Through Time in Quest of a Meaning, 1978.

Elazar, Daniel, American Federalism: A View from the States, (2nd ed.) 1972.

*Reagan. Michael and Sanzone, John, The New Federalism, 1981.

Riker, William, Federalism: Origin, Operation, Significance, 1964.

Watts, R., 'The American Constitution in Comparative Perspective: A Comparison of Federalism in the

US and Canada', Journal of American History, 74:3 (special issue), 1987, pp. 769-792.

Albritton, Robert B, ‘American Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations’ in G Peele et al,

Developments in American Politics 7th Ed

7 POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

Thematic Readings

Do modern political parties successfully transmit public preferences?

Downs, Anthony, An Economic Theory of Democracy, 1957.

Reeve, Andrew and Ware, Alan, Electoral Systems: A Comparative and Theoretical Introduction, 1992,

chapters 3 and 6.

Katz, Richard S., and Mair, Peter, How Parties Organize: Change and Adaptation in Party Organizations in

Western Democracies, 1994, especially chapters 1, 2, 5, and 8.

Klingemann, Hans-Dieter and Fuchs, Dieter, Citizens and the State, 1995, chapters 1, 4, 7, and 14.

Lane, Jan-Erik, and Ersson, Svante The New Institutional Politics: Performance and Outcomes, 2000,

chapter 9. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Mair, Peter ed., The West European Party System, 1990, Introduction.

21

Prelims 2011-12

Powell, G. Bingham, Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian and Proportional Visions, 2000.

France:

When lobby groups protest in France, they take to the streets. Why is this so?

Stevens, Anne, The Government and Politics of France (3rd ed.), 2003.

Waters, S., 'New Social Movement Politics in France: the rise of civic forms of mobilization', West

European Politics, 21:3, 1998, pp. 170-186.

Wright, Vincent and Knapp, Andrew, The Government and Politics of France (5th ed.), 2006, chapters 3, 4

and 5. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Germany:

Germany's party system provides poor representation because it denies voters the right to reject unpopular

candidates. Discuss.

Capoccia, G., 'The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws: The German System at Fifty', West European

Politics, 25:3, 2002, pp. 171 - 202.

Conradt, David, The German Polity (8th ed.), 2005, chapter 9.

Dalton, Richard J., 'The German Voter', in Smith, Gordon et al, eds., Developments in German Politics 2,

1996.

Klingemann, H. D. and B. Wessels, 'Political Consequences of Germany's Mixed Member System:

Personalisation at the Grassroots?', in Shugart, M. S. and Wattenberg, M. P., eds., Mixed-Member

Electoral Systems: The Best of Both Worlds?, 2001. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Pappi, F. U. and P. W. Thurner, 'Electoral Behaviour in a Two-vote System: Incentives for Ticket Splitting

in German Bundestag Elections', European Journal of Political Research, 41:2, 2002, pp. 207-232.

Roberts, G. K., 'Selection, Voting and Adjudication: The Politics of Legislative Membership in the Federal

Republic of Germany', Government and Opposition, 37:2, 2002, pp. 231-249.

United Kingdom:

Does the British political system now more effectively represent voters than it did in 1945?

*Clarke, H.J. et al., Political Choice in Britain, 2004.

*Grant, Wyn, Pressure Groups and British Politics, 1999.

Grant, Wyn, 'Pressure Politics: From 'Insider' Politics to Direct Action?', Parliamentary Affairs, 54:2, 2001.

Jordan, G and Mahoney, W.A., Interest Groups and Democracy: Enhancing Participation?, 2006.

*Judge, David, Representation: Theory and Practice in Britain, 1999.

Norris, Pippa and Lovenduski, Joni, Political Recruitment: Gender, Race and Class in the British Parliament,

1995.

Pattie, C et al., Citizenship in Britain: Values, Participation and Democracy in Britain, 2004.

Weir, Stuart, and Beetham, David, Democracy Under Blair, 2002.

22

Prelims 2011-12

United States:

Is the House of Representatives representative?

Canon, David, Race, Redistricting, and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black Majority

Districts, 1999.

Cox, Gary and Katz, Jonathan, Elbridge Gerry's Salamander: The Electoral Consequences of the

Reapportionment Revolution, 2002.

Guinier, Lani, The Tyranny of the Majority: Fundamental Fairness in Representative Democracy, 1994.

Miller, William, and Shanks, J Merrill, The New American Voter, 1996.

Shafer, Byron, and Claggett, William, The Two Majorities: The Issue Context of Modern American Politics,

1995.

Tate, Katherine, Black Faces in the Mirror: African Americans and Their Representatives in the U.S. Congress

Princeton University Press, 2004.

Swers, Michele L,The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress, Chicago UP, 2002.

8 THE POLITICS OF INSTABILITY

'Political stability is achieved by improvements in constitutional design.' Is this true?

Thematic Reading:

Linz, J. J., 'The Perils of Presidentialism', Journal of Democracy, 1:1, 1990, pp. 52-69. Per J

Sartori, Giovanni, Comparative Constitutional Engineering: An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and

Outcomes, 1994.

Shugart, Matthew, and Carey, John, Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics,

1992.

Weaver, R. Kent, and Rockman, Bert, Do Institutions Matter?: Government Capabilities in the United States

and Abroad, 1993.

Shepsle, Kenneth, and Bonchek, Mark, Analyzing Politic: Rationality, Behaviour, and Institutions, 1997,

chapter 4.

Instability in France: The Fourth Republic

Why did the constitution-makers of the French Fourth Republic create a system with such potential for instability?

Betts, Raymond, France and Decolonization, 1900-1960, 1991, chapters 5-7.

Gildea, Robert, France Since 1945, 1996.

Hazareesingh, Sudhir, Political Traditions in Modern France, 1994, chapter 5.

Larkin, Maurice, France Since the Popular Front (2nd ed.), 1997, chapters 6-14.

*MacRae, Duncan, Parliament, Parties and Society in France, 1946-1958, 1967.

*Rioux, Jean-Pierre, The Fourth Republic 1944-1958, 1987.

*Vinen, Richard, Bourgeois Politics in France 1945-1951, 1995.

Williams, Philip, Crisis and Compromise: Politics in the Fourth Republic, 1972.

23

Prelims 2011-12

Instability in Germany: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic

Why did the Weimar Republic collapse?

*Berman, S., 'Civil Society and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic', World Politics, 49:3, 1997,

pp. 401-429.

Blackbourn, D., Populists and Patricians: Essays in Modern German History, 1987.

Childers, Thomas, The Nazi Voter: The Social Foundations of Fascism in Germany 1919-1933, 1983.

Ferguson, Niall, `The German inter-war economy: political choice versus economic determinism' in

Mary Fulbrook, ed., German History since 1800, 1997.

Fulbrook, Mary, History of Germany, 1918-2000: The Divided Nation, 2002.

*Hamilton, Richard, Who Voted for Hitler?, 1982.

*Heiber, Helmut and Yuill, William, The Weimar Republic, 1993.

*Lepsius, Mario Rainer, 'From Fragmented Party Democracy to Government by Emergency Decree and

National Socialist Take-over', in Linz, J. J. and Stepan, A., eds., The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes:

Europe, 1978.

Needler, M., 'The Theory of the Weimar Presidency', Review of Politics, 21:4, 1959, pp. 692-698.

Nicholls, Anthony, Weimar and the Rise of Hitler (4th ed.), 2000.

Pulzer, Peter, Germany 1870-1945: Politics, State Formation, and War, 1997.

Instability in the United Kingdom: the 1970s

Discuss the view that political crises in Britain in the 1970s were surmounted because of the unresponsiveness of

the British political system to popular pressure.

Morgan, Kenneth O., The People’s Peace: British History, 1945-89, 1990, chapters 9 – 11.

Coopey, R., and Woodward, N., Britain in the 1970s: The Troubled Economy, 1996.

Dell, Edmund, A Hard Pounding: Politics and Economic Crisis 1974-76, 1991, especially pp.264-275.

Holmes, Martin, The Labour Government, 1974-79: Political Aims and Economic Realities, 1985.

Howell, David, British Social Democracy: A Study in Development and Decay, 1976.

Schoen, Douglas, Enoch Powell and the Powellites, 1977.

Finer, S.E., Adversary Politics and Electoral Reform, 1975.

Seldon, A., and Hickson, K. eds., New Labour, Old Labour: The Wilson and Callaghan Governments,1974-79,

2004.

Instability in the United States: The New Deal

'Since there are so many veto points in American legislating, the surprise is that consensus over the New Deal

came about so quickly.' Discuss

Did the New Deal save liberal democracy in the United States?

Auerbach, J., 'New Deal, Old Deal or Raw Deal?', Journal of Southern History, 35:1, 1969, pp. 18-30.

Badger, Anthony, The New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933-1940, 1989, especially chapter 6.

*Brinkley, Alan, The End of Reform: New Deal Liberalism in Recession and War, 1995.

Hamby, Alonzo, The New Deal: Analysis and Interpretation, 1981.

*Leuchtenburg, William, Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal 1932-1940, 1963.

Louchheim, Katie, and Dembo, Jonathan, eds., The Making of the New Deal: The Insiders Speak, 1983.

24

Prelims 2011-12

Milkis, S., 'FDR and the Transcendence of Partisan Politics', Political Science Quarterly, 100:3, 1985,

pp. 479-504.

*Skocpol, Theda 'The Limits of the American New Deal', in Rainwater, L., Rein, M., and Esping-

Andersen, G., Stagnation and Renewal in Social Policy: The Rise and Fall of Policy Regimes, 1987.

9 POLICY CONTINUITY AND POLICY CHANGE

Thematic Readings:

Discuss the view that it is institutions and rules, rather than culture, which determines the ability of the state to

engender and respond to change.

Hill, Michael, and Ham, Christopher, The Policy Process in the Modern State, 1997, chapters 1 and 4.

Hall, Peter, 'The Role of Institutions, Interests and Ideas in the Comparative Political Economy of

Industrialized Nations,' in Lichbach, M. and Zuckerman, A., eds., Comparative Politics: Rationality,

Culture and Structure, 1997.

Berman, Sheri, 'Ideas, Norms and Political Culture', Comparative Politics, 33:2, 2001, pp. 231-250.

Pierson, Paul, 'Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics', American Political Science

Review, 94:2, 2000, pp. 251-267.

Policy Change in France: Redefining Citizenship:

Undermined from above by globalization, and from below by the rise of identity politics, the French state has

attempted to redefine its relationship with its citizens. How far has it succeeded?

Cole, A., Legalès, P. and Levy, J. eds., Developments in French Politics 3, 2005, chapters by Duchesne,

Guiraudon, and Smith.

Hewlett, Nick, Modern French Politics: Analysing Conflict and Consensus since 1945, 1998.

Meunier, Sophie, 'Globalization and Europeanization: a challenge to French Politics', French Politics 2:2,

2004, pp. 125-150.

Milner, Susan, Reinventing France: State and Society in the 21st Century, 2003, esp. parts 1 and 2.

Schnapper, Dominique, 'Making Citizens in an Increasingly Complex Society: Jacobinism Revisited',

in Hazareesingh, Sudhir ed., The Jacobin Legacy in Modern France, 2002.

Policy Change in Germany: The Effects of Reunification:

'The blocked republic.' Is this an accurate description of Germany since reunification?

Lange, T. and Shackleton, J., eds., The Political Economy of German Unification, 1998, chapters 3, 4, 5, and 7.

*Larres, Klaus, Germany Since Unification: The Domestic and External Consequences, 1998.

Merkl, Peter, ed., The Federal Republic of Germany At Fifty: The End of a Century of Turmoil, 1999.

*Neckermann, Peter, The Unification of Germany: Or The Anatomy of a Peaceful Revolution, 1991.

*Pulzer, Peter, German Politics 1945-1995, 1995, chapter 8.

*Rose, R. and Haerpfer, C., 'The Impact of a Ready-Made State: East Germans in Comparative

Perspective', German Politics, 6:1, 1997, pp. 100-121.

Schirm, Stefan, 'The Power of Institutions and Norms in Shaping National Answers to Globalisation:

German Economic Policy after Unification', German Politics, 11:3, 2002, pp. 217-236.

Sturm, Roland, 'Divided Government in Germany: The Case of the Bundesrat', in Elgie, R., ed., Divided

Government in Comparative Perspective, 2001. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

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Prelims 2011-12

*West European Politics 2003, 26:4 (special issue), Germany: Beyond the Stable State, Kischelt and Streeck

eds.

Policy Change in the United Kingdom: Thatcherism and After:

Were the policy intentions of the Thatcher Governments assisted or hindered by the structure of the British state?

*Kavanagh, Dennis, The Reordering of British Politics: Politics After Thatcher, 1997.

Skidelsky, Robert, ed., Thatcherism, 1988, introduction, and chapters 1 and 9.

*Gamble, Andrew, The Free Economy and the Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism, (2nd ed.)

1994,introduction and chapters 3, 5-6.

Green, E.H.H., Thatcher, 2006.

Driver, Stephen and Martell, Luke, New Labour: Politics after Thatcherism, 1998.

Gamble, Andrew and Wright, Tony, eds,. The New Social Democracy, 1999.

*Heffernan, R., New Labour and Thatcherism: Political Change in Britain, 2004.

*Marsh, D. and Rhodes, R., ‘Implementing Thatcherism: Policy Change in the 1980s’, Parliamentary

Affairs, 45:1, 1992.

Policy Change in the United States: Civil Rights

Why did the federal government eventually decide to advance the civil rights agenda?

*Bass, Jack and de Vries, Walter, The Transformation of Southern Politics: Social Change and Political

Consequence Since 1945, 1976.

Eagles, Charles and Lewis, David, The Civil Rights Movement in America: Essays, 1986.

*Goldfield, Michael, The Color of Politics: Race, Class and the Mainsprings of American Politics, 1997.

Klarman, Michael, From Jim Crow to Civil Rights, 2004. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

King, Desmond, Separate and Unequal? Black Americans and the US Federal Government, 1995. ALSO

AVAILABLE ONLINE.

*Sitkoff, Harvard, The Struggle for Black Equality 1954-1980, 1981.

Smith, Rogers, Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in US History, 1997.

*Woodward, Comer Vann, The Strange Career of Jim Crow (3rd ed.), 1974.

10 INSTITUTIONAL AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION:

Thematic Readings:

What are the institutional prerequisites of democratic consolidation?

Lipset, Seymour Martin, 'The Social Requisites of Democracy Revisited', American Sociological

Review, 59:1, 1994, pp. 1-22.

Linz, Juan & Stepan, Al, 'Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation', Comparative Political

Studies, 30:3, 1997, pp. 380-384.

Shugart, MS, and Carey, JM, Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics, 1992.

Whitehead, Lawrence, Democratization: Theory and Experience, 2002. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE.

26

Prelims 2011-12

Institutional and Democratic Consolidation in France: The 1958 Constitution and the Impact of De

Gaulle:

What role did de Gaulle play in the consolidation of French democracy and institutions?

**Debre, Michel, 'The Constitution of 1958: Its raison d'etre and How it Evolved', in Andrews, W. and

Hoffmann, S., eds., The Impact of the Fifth Republic on France, 1981.

*Hoffmann, Stanley, 'The Institutions of the Fifth Republic', in Hollifield, J., and Ross, G., eds., Searching

for the New France, 1991.

Cole, Alistair, French Politics and Society, 1998, chapter 4.

*Hayward, Jack ed., De Gaulle to Mitterrand: Presidential Power in France, 1993.

Stevens, Anne, The Government and Politics of France (3rd ed.), 2003, chapter 2.

Stone Sweet, Alec, The Birth of Judicial Politics in France: The Constitutional Council in Comparative

Perspective, 1992.

Wright, Vincent and Knapp, Andrew, The Government and Politics of France (5th ed.), 2006. ALSO

AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Institutional and Democratic Consolidation in Germany:

What accounts for Germany's transition to democracy from 1945 until 1949?

Bark, Dennis and Gress, David, A History of West Germany (2nd ed.), two volumes, 1993.

Brady, J. S., B. Crawford and S. E. Wiliarty, eds., The Postwar Transformation of Germany: Democracy,

Prosperity and Nationhood, 1999.

Garner, C., 'Remaking German Democracy in the 1950s: Was the Civil Service an Asset or a Liability?',

German Politics, 6:3, 1997, pp. 16-53.

Kettenacker, Lothar, Germany since 1945, 1997.

Klein, Hans, The German Chancellors, 1996, chapter 1.

Nicholls, A.J., The Bonn Republic: West German Democracy, 1945-1990, 1997, chapters 1-8.

*Pulzer, Peter, German Politics 1945-95, 1995.

Institutional and Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe:

Why have some central and eastern European states managed the transition to democracy more successfully than

others?

Anderson, Christopher, 'Parties, Party Systems, Satisfaction with Democratic Performance in the New

Europe', Political Studies, 46:3, 1998, pp. 572-588.

Banac, Ivo, Eastern Europe in Revolution, 1992.

Evans, Geoff, and Whitefield, Stephen, 'Identifying the Bases of Party Competition in Eastern Europe',

British Journal of Political Science, 23:4, 1993, pp. 521-548.

Bernhard, Michael, 'Civil Society Democratic Transition in East Central Europe', Political Science

Quarterly, 108:2, 1993, pp. 307-326.

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Prelims 2011-12

Institutional and Democratic Consolidation in Developing Countries:

What factors have influenced the success of democratic transitions in developing countries?

Diamond, Larry, Linz, Juan J., and Lipset, Seymour Martin, Politics in Developing Countries: Comparing

Experiences with Democracy, 1995.

Linz, J. J., and Stepan, A., 'Towards Consolidated Democracies', Journal of Democracy, 7:2, 1996, pp. 14-33.

Per J Reprinted in Stepan, A., Arguing Comparative Politics, 2001.

Williams, Gavin, 'Fragments of Democracy: Nationalism, Development and the State in Africa'.

Occasional paper, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, 2003.