American Public Policy

This graduate seminar surveys the literature on the politics of public policy. While the primary focus is the contemporary US policy state, the course also examines American policymaking in cross-national perspective. Policymaking is a complex process in which outcomes are shaped by the interplay of interests, ideas, and institutions. To understand these outcomes, the course draws on theories of policymaking, public administration, public law, and institutionalism as frameworks of analysis. Substantive topics include the US welfare state, legislative politics, federalism, the influence of racial politics in policymaking, policy feedback, the consequences of partisan polarization for governance, and government as a problem-solving institution.