1) Discuss the relationship(s) between Dahl’s concepts of democratic characteristics and democratic institutions.
2) What do voting rights cases like Shelby v. Holder and the 2020 Census Case tell us about which people count/matter? Who decides? How do these issues connect the democratic context in which our government operates to the policies they set and implement? Think about how Dahl and Verba each define political equality and its relationship to democracy. Also consider Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “The Idea of America” .
3) Define and give an example of a public good. Explain the context(s) in which government intervenes to provide public goods. How does this provision of public goods reflect government’s job to simultaneously promote the public’s interest and protect individual rights?
4) “The more society grows and the need for government services expands, the more challenging bureaucratic management and public administration becomes.” What does this statement mean to you? Support your argument.
5) Define federalism, distinguishing between dual federalism, cooperative federalism, and decentralized federalism (decentralization). Use one of the class resources to explain this e.g.: a case from the CQ Researcher, the RadioLab podcast (Sex, Ducks, and the Founding Feud), etc.
6) Define and describe the steps of the policy process using an example. What does the Schoolhouse Rock “I’m just a bill” video get right? What does it miss?
7) Name one news-related/current event story from the past month.
a. find a news/current affairs event on social media,
b. backtrack the story to one or more original source(s), and
c. apply concepts To explain why this item is newsworthy to us as public affairs scholars.
- Define public affairs. In the basic sense.