PSC 321: British Politics, Timetable

Page revised 27 Apr. 2010 with election links; by Dr. Jeremy Lewis.
Documentary films will only be shown in brief excerpts, and only when time permits.
No classes, Spring 2010: M 19 Jan (MLK); F 29 Jan., F 12 Feb., F 26Feb., F 12 Mar.; 22-26 Mar (Spring break); F 2 Apr. (Good Friday)
Week: [01] [02] [03] [04] [05] [06] [Test] [07] [08] [09] [10] [11] [12] [ePaper] [election] [13] [14] [15] [Final]

PSC 321	Reading and Topic (give priority to bold readings)	Speaker
Week 1 12,14 Jan	Norton 1: Contemporary Landscape [Lecture] How have the British economy and polity developed over 300 years? What have been the impacts of democratization, industrialization and the welfare state? How has Britain been affected by evolutionary rather than revolutionary change? How does a constitutional monarchy work? What does parliamentary sovereignty mean? Is Britain more a participant or a deferential society? What are the basic elements of British geography, society and culture? What caused Britain's postwar, relative economic decline?
Week2 19, 21Jan	Norton 2: Political Culture [Lecture] How can we analyze the British political culture? What elements are there in the British political culture? Is the allegiant political culture in decline, and what is replacing it?
	Dunleavy 1: Patrick Dunleavy, et al., "Britain Beyond Blair -- Party Politics and Leadership Succession" [Lecture] What does the succession to Blair tell us about the Labour party's base and its future? How are minor parties faring in each region, in PR elections versus FPTP elections? Is the 2+ party system changing to a multiparty system? Is New Labour now dominant in each region? Is the main leadership quality now TV ability? What causes the swing of the pendulum between major parties, and will it continue?	Devon
	Dunleavy 2: Richard Heffernan, "The Blair Style of Central Government" [Lecture] Has British prime ministerial leadership become "presidential?" Did Blair's authority decline in office -- or did he find a way to maintain it? Did Blair exceed his authority, and fail in leadership? Does Britain still have collegial cabinet government? On which key issues did Blair fail to get his way? What factors strengthen individual leadership over party and parliament? Does the core-executive model better describe modern British government?	Bill
Week 3 26, 28 Jan	Norton 3: Past & Present [notes needed] [Lecture] How did parliamentary government emerge? How did the welfare state develop along with the managed economy? How did the politics of Thatcher and Blair break with the postwar consensus? Has the British economy suffered long term decline? What are the economic, social and structural explanations for British economic change?
	Jeremy Lewis: Battle of Falklands /Malvinas. \| Lecture \| Maps \| What was the longterm historical relationship of the islands to the British, Argentine and other governments? Did either the British or the Argentine governments have any legal claim to the islands? What diplomatic, economic and political failures caused the battle to happen? Should the battle even have been fought? Why did the naval war unfold as it did? What factors affected the air-sea phase of the battle? What factors affected the land battle? What might have caused the outcome to be reversed? Which of these was most significant: strategy, technology or expertise? What were the effects of: missiles? the emphasis on special forces? submarines? innovation?
	BBC images \| Clip from This is England, images \| more on Brit Mil. Great SAS missions: Retaking the Falklands (documentary) 10', 1/3 \| 2/3 \| 3/3 \| Granada TV: Battle of the Falklands, documentary What happens when an old colonial commitment is challenged?
Week 4 2, 4 Feb	Norton 5: Uncodified Constitution [Lecture] Lecture on British and US Constitution, for US Constitution Day [PPT] What is a constitution? What are the sources of the British constitution, and where is it written down? How can the UK constitution be amended? Who interprets the UK constitution? How are the powers separated in UK? How does the rule of law square with parliamentary sovereignty? How does membership of the EU fit with common law and the UK constitution? General discussion: What are the effects of a flexible constitution? How many US constitutional principles emerged from UK traditions? Can we say the US and UK have two constitutions divided by a shared tradition?
	Dunleavy 7: Matthew Flinders, "The Half-hearted Constitutional Revolution" [Lecture] Did the constitutional reforms of Blair amount to much? Which institutions did they actually reform?	Cole
Week 5 9, 11 Feb	Norton 4: Electoral System: Fair and Workable? [Lecture] How does one become a candidate in British elections? How do voters cast their votes? How are votes counted? What influences voting? Is the system of counting votes fair -- or is it dysfunctional? What are the results of this type of electoral system? Should the electoral system be reformed?
	Dunleavy 5: Bartle and Laycock, "Elections & Voting" [Lecture] Renard Sexton, "For UK Conservatives it's the MP ratio That Matters" (538.com blog, Feb. 2010) *NEW* How does the British system of elections work and is it just? Which parties have the advantage or disadvantage, the way the votes are counted? How is it changing?	Russ
Week 6 16, 18 Feb	Norton 6: Political Parties: ... A Two Party System? [Lecture] [Time graph] *NEW* How did the British party system develop? What are the different parties in Britain? What elements are there to each party? What are the differences in ideas and structure of the two major parties? What has been the role of minor parties in the UK? Are British political parties in decline? Has there been a structural dealigment of British parties?
	Dunleavy 4: Sarah Childs, "Political Parties and Party Systems" [Lecture] How has the British political party system changed in recent decades, and are both the Conservative party and New Labour going to revert to their older types?	Cole X
	[Sample Questions] TEST Tuesday week 7
Week 7 23, 25 Feb	Norton 7: Interest Groups: Insiders or Outsiders? [Lecture] What are the functions of interest groups? How do British interest groups differ from US groups? What types of interest groups are there in Britain? How can we analyze group behavior, and what causes groups to behave in certain ways? Is Britain a corporatist country? What is the process of lobbying? Where do British interest groups lobby most heavily?
	Dunleavy 6: William Maloney, "Political Participation beyond the Electoral Arena" [Lecture] How do people participate outside of elections?	-
	Dunleavy 11: Gillian Peele, "The Politics of Multicultural Britain" [Lecture] How do interest groups and ethnic groups compete in British politics?	Bill
	BBC Video: comedy drama series, Yes, Prime Minister: The Grand Design. (Nuclear-free defense strategy) How does PM Jim Hacker absorb and develop policy ideas? How does Sir Humphrey react to Hacker's innovations? What are the paradoxes of nuclear strategy? The Ministerial Broadcast How should a politician appear on television? How far should a politician cater to the needs of television? The Smoke Screen (the plan to abolish smoking) How does a policy innovation upset a lobby? What is the role of the civil service in reacting to innovative ideas?
Week 8 2, 4 Mar	Norton 8: Executive: Gov't at the Center [Lecture & class notes, table of PM power & constraints] *NEW* How does the executive figure in the policy process? Does Britain now have cabinet or prime ministerial government? Where is the power of the prime minister laid down in law or a constitutional authority? Does the power of the PM depend on the patronage function? What types of PM have been found? What is the practical role of the cabinet? How did the cabinet develop? What law or constitutional authority lays down the functions of the cabinet?
	Dunleavy 14: Colin Hay, "Managing Economic Interdependence: The Political Economy of New Labour" [Lecture] *NEW* How has the UK economy performed under New Labour? Can the growth be sustained? What theory of political economy does New Labour respond to? How did New Labour's abandoning traditional socialist ideology against capitalism fare once they got into power? Dunleavy 15: Stephen Driver, "Modernising the Public Services" [Lecture] How did New Labour' implement its promises to turn back the Thatcherites reforms of the public sector? After 2001, why did Labour attempt to modernize the public services, how much did it cost, and how effective was this process? Were New Labour's reforms concentrated in some services rather than across the board? Was there any tension between spending more on services and modernising them?	Devon
	Audio CD: Winston Churchill, Wartime Speeches to the House of Commons What difficulties did Churchill face in wartime and how did he treat them in public speeches? To what degree did Churchill prepare the public for wartime suffering and sacrifices? How does Churchill's leadership stand the test of time?
	Research Links \| Scores
Week 9 9, 11 Mar	Norton 10: New Assemblies: Gov't Beyond Center [Lecture] Norton 11: Local Gov't: Below the Center [Lecture] What was the effect of establishing regional assemblies? What have been the difficulties of re-establishing home rule in Northern Ireland? How were the early units of local government in the UK established? What statutes have reformed local government in the British unitary system? How influential are the political parties in local government? What is the scale of local government staff? From where do local governments derive their income?
	Lecture on Welsh and Scottish society and devolutionNEW Dunleavy 8: Charlie Jeffrey, "Devolution and the Lopsided State" [Lecture] How did devolution leave central UK government, after regional assemblies were established? Was devolution lopsided among the regional parliaments? What powers were devolved? Do "Sewel motions" indicate a problem with the Scottish parliament? Did devolution make rational sense in light of the characteristics of each region? Has the UK gone from a "union state" to a "state of unions"? Why is there no regional assembly for northern England? On what does Northern Irish devolution depend?	- -
Week 10 16, 18 Mar	Norton 9: European Community: Above the Center \| [Lecture] How has the EU affected British politics? When did the EEC become the EU, and what was the significance of this move? What are the three pillars of the EU? What happened to Britain's first application to the EEC? What did Britain chose to do about joining the common currency? What should British courts do when faced with EU laws? How has the EU affected British trade? What is the Euro and how well did the new system work? What are the main institutions of the EU and how do they work? How does EU democracy work -- and how different is it from the British version? To what degree do British people uphold the EU?
	Dunleavy 9: Michael Smith, "Britain, Europe and the World" [Lecture] How does	-
	video: Granada TV, Battle of the Falklands
	Spring Break: No classes
Week 11 30 Mar-1 Apr	Norton 12: Parliament: Commons and Lords [Lecture] How are the members of the Commons and Lords elected or appointed? What are the terms of office? Who are the members of the Commons? What is the role of the Speaker? How large is the parliamentary staff? How generous are the salary and perks of office? Which tasks of an MP are more important? In what ways can MPs influence policy? How are the committees organized and what types are there? What types of debate are held in parliament? How does the House of Lords differ from the Commons? Who are the members of the Lords? How should the Lords be reformed?
	Dunleavy 3: Philip Cowley, "Making Parliament Matter?" [Lecture] Is there still parliamentary sovereignty -- or does the prime minister now dominate central government? What is the remaining role for parliament?	-
	C-SPAN videos: House of Commons Question Time and debates: Thatcher \| Major \| Blair
Week 12 6, 8 Apr	Norton 13: Monarchy: Above the Fray? [Lecture on Norton] Monarchy lecture notes How did the constitutional monarchy develop? In what sense does the monarch still play a political role? How is the monarch constrained by the constitution? How did the separation of powers develop? What is the role of the monarch in the established church? How did the abdication crisis affect the monarchy? What role does the extended royal family play, and at what cost? What criticisms have been levelled at the monarchy? Will the monarchy survive into the next generation?	- -
	Curtis (ed) v1: James I on Divine right of Kings On what does James I base the royal prerogative of ruling? What are the duties of the monarch as seen by James I? What should be the relationship of monarch to subjects?	Bill X
	documentary films on The Windsors: a Royal family \| Elizabeth R \|
11 Apr	Research ePaper due 6pm Sunday before week 13. Requirements page
Week 13 13, 15 Apr	Norton 14: Enforcement: Courts & Police [Lecture] How does the UK justice system work, and how does it differ from the US? What changes have been forced by the EU in the British justice system?
	Policy Topics: Dunleavy 10: Cox and Oliver, "Security Policy in an Insecure World" [Lecture] Dunleavy 12: Michael Saward, "The State and Civil Liberties in the Post-9/11 World" [Lecture] How has Britain responded to the second wave of terrorism, post 9/11?	- - -
	BBC video: "Yes, Prime Minister: The Official Visit" (state visit from African leader to Scotland, during marginal by-elections)
	British election 6 May 2010:BBC \| BBC Vote/Seat calculator \| *NEW* How does the UK election system work, and how big a vote margin would it take for the Conservatives to "win"? Which regions favor each party? Which recent election was the fairest? Should seats be proportionate to votes at all? Parties' sites: Cons \| Lab \| Lib Dems \| Plaid \| Scot Nats \| UKIP \| BNP \| Greens *NEW* Party profiles (BBC): Cons \| Lab \| Lib Dems \| Plaid \| Scot Nats \| UKIP \| BNP \| GreensNEW Manifestoes: Cons \| Lab \| Lib Dems \| Plaid \| Scot Nats \| UKIP \| BNP \| Greens *NEW* election announcement for 6 May 2010 (BBC) \| Remembering 1974 hung Parliament (BBC video) *NEW* What chance is there of a hung Parliament -- and would it cause a crisis? Jo Coburn explains PM choice in hung Parliament (BBC video) *NEW* First televised election debate in UK: party leaders, 15 April 2010 \| Notes *NEW* 'Cleggmania' from First British TV debate: Huffington Post \| CNN column *NEW* Election Briefing: Lecture notes \| Marginal seats, 538 blog \| Schott, NY Times *NEW*
Week 14 20, 21 Apr	Norton 15: Communication & Feedback: Mass Media [Lecture] Dunleavy 13: Dominic Wring, "The News Media & the Public Relations State" [Lecture] What are the characteristics of the British mass media? How do the media relate to the State? How has the State adapted to the age of public relations?	- -
	BBC video: comedy drama series, Yes, Prime Minister: The Ministerial Broadcast (the new strategy on national TV)
	C-SPAN videos (as time permits): Gordon Brown, Chancellor, speech, "British Values: Liberty, Responsibility and Fairness," Fabian Society, Feb. '06 David Cameron, Conservative Conf. speech on values, Apr. '06. Blair biography, including clips of interview with Blair & Brown in 1993.
	Norton 16: Flux & Strength [Lecture] How is UK government changing, and what traditional strengths are being retained?
	Dunleavy 16: Andrew Gamble, "British Politics after Blair" [Lecture] Dunleavy 17: Patrick Dunleavy, "The Westminster Model and the Distinctiveness of British Politics" [Lecture] What will British politics look like in the generation after Blair? Is the Westminster model still influential -- and does actual British politics resemble the model? Is British politics actually distinctive -- or has it converged on the modern politics of other states?	-
	PBS, The Blair Decade Nova, PBS, "The Bomb Squad", 1997 PBS Frontline, "Behind the Mask: the IRA and Sinn Fein." Amanpour Reports, CNN, “The War Within”
FINALS	08:30, F 30 Apr, comprehensive final exam of multiple choice and written work