| S.E. Charlton
Office: C331 Clark
PO 341 Tel.: 491-6806 Fall 1999 SueEllen.Charlton@colostate.edu
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COURSE DESCRIPTION Purpose This course is designed to encourage students to explore the way in which government and politics operate in West European polities and in those nation-states patterned after the European political systems. Most of these systems are classified as parliamentary because of the fusion of powers between the executive and legislature. Most of these countries are also advanced industrial democracies, confronting the same fundamental issues of democracy that concern students of American politics. Thus although the United States (or Germany, or Australia) is not highlighted in this course, many of the questions we'll examine are critical to the U.S. and other liberal democracies. In this way, we will be doing a good deal of comparing. In order to illustrate the range of issues confronting industrial democracies, the course focuses on three countries that are linked historically, politically, and economically: Britain, France, and Canada. Canada, of course, is not in Europe, but it has European roots and a European political system (see below). The Problems What are the issues that seem so critical in these countries? Of the many that compete for attention, the following have been the most enduring and warrant our special study. Note that these issues are not new, although they present themselves in new forms at the end of the 20th century. In particular, the revolution in information technology is transforming---often in ways we do not yet understand---the meaning of citizenship, democracy, and community, and thereby influencing every political institution. 1) What is, or should be, the balance between the community and the individual in a democracy? Is there a "majority will" or just a series of minority, or individual, wills to be represented? Put differently, how is the political community constituted---who is included and who is excluded, and by what criteria? During the past two centuries, the problem of defining the political community has typically focused on the concept of national citizenship. But citizenship and participation in the political community are not synonymous. Age, gender, ethnicity, race have all complicated the construction of the political community, and often continue to do so especially in the European Union, which guarantees free movement of persons. 2) What is meant by representation and who should be represented in the selecting of leaders, the making and implementation of laws? That is, how should we choose those who represent us and how do we hold them accountable? Historically, this subsumes a variety of problems, such as the creation of responsible and responsive executives, and legislative assemblies, and the associated expansion of suffrage, devising electoral systems, and creating and regulating political parties. 3) How do governments seek and establish a balance between centralization and decentralization in the nation-state? What functions or services should be provided by which level of government (or by government at all)? During much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the European and North American democracies sought ways to unify their diverse populations through strategies of centralization. The European Union, by creating supplementary (or competing?) political forms, is transforming the domestic laws and institutions of its members. Simultaneously, the processes of devolution portend the eventual dissolution of the nation-state as we know it (especially in the U.K. and Canada). The Cases Britain, France, and Canada are the three primary country cases used in this course to explore the issues outlined above. To these will be added a discussion of the implications of European integration for Britain and France, as well as selected illustrations of domestic problems and solutions from other countries (including the U.S.) as time permits. Why these three countries? The tradition of representative, parliamentary government originated in England, and the British "model" has probably influenced more countries than any other single political system in the world. Yet Britain has no single, formal, written constitution, and the institutions that make up the British political system have evolved over a period of 700 years. As a consequence, it is tempting to see Britain as predictable, if not static (especially in contrast to France!), but that would be misleading. In the last decade, the fundamentals of the political parties have shifted, new electoral systems devised, regional devolution of powers undertaken, and Scottish independence imagined---just to name a few of the critical changes. For 800 years, British and French history have been closely intertwined, yet since (and because of) the French Revolution of 1789, the democratic evolution of the two countries has varied dramatically. France has experimented with almost every form of government imaginable since 1789. The current system, inaugurated with the 1958 Constitution that created the Fifth Republic, combines
elements of the British parliamentary system and a strong president as
found in the U.S. and also earlier in France. Despite their differences,
Britain and France share important similarities. Both, for example,
have wrestled with dirty little civil wars in a
Politics in Canada shows the influence of both the British and the French traditions. The French colonial empire in North America was replaced by the British in the 18th century, but French culture, language and laws, as well as the Catholic religion, were left entrenched in Quebec. From this dual Anglo-French heritage come the constitutional tensions of modern Canada. Unlike most European countries (but like the U.S.), Canada has a federal system. And of the countries we'll study in this course, it seems the closest to dissolution with the potential independence of Quebec. GOALS Students are expected to: 1. Learn in depth the essential facts of the contemporary political institutions of Britain, France, and Canada: their origins and contexts, how and why they operate as they do. 2. Compare the similarities and differences among the political structures and processes of these countries and use this knowledge to draw comparisons with other industrialized liberal democracies, including the United States. 3. Discuss and analyze the central questions addressed in the course (for example, the questions noted above under "Problems"), using specific illustrations from the countries studied, as well as the U.S. 4. Use with facility and accuracy news, library references, and internet sources, AND assess their balance and utility. 5. Improve their ability to communicate verbally (orally and in writing) information and ideas about both the broad issues and also the specific cases studied in the course. ASSIGNMENTS Reading Three core textbooks will be used in the course:
Class lectures, discussions, and exams will be based on the assumption that you have read the assigned material. Writing Essay A short (3-4 pages, typed, double-spaced) essay on the topic of "democratic health" will be due September 16. You will be asked to respond to one of several short articles that will be distributed and discussed in class. Comparative Research Paper A research paper on a comparative topic will be due in three phases and is also linked to assignments that reflect goal 4 in the course (see p. 3 above). The first phase is submission of a preliminary, written proposal, which will be returned with comments by the instructor. This phase is not graded. The second phase is submission of a formal proposal and an annotated research bibliography, both of which will be graded. In addition, each student will be asked to do an anonymous "spot check" to verify references on one of the research bibliographies turned in by someone else in the class. The final phase is submission of the research paper in its entirety. More detailed information about the research paper will be distributed in class. Quizzes and Exams There will be three quizzes, two of which will be included in the calculation of the course grade. The lowest grade of the three quizzes will be dropped. There are no make-ups on the quizzes; if you miss one, that constitutes a grade of zero on the quiz and the grade will be dropped. The mid-term and final exam will be essay style, including both short essays or identifications, and longer comparative essays. The final exam will include questions from the mid-term. Participation and Oral Work Approximately 15-20% of the final grade will consist of participation, including attendance, courtesy (including prompt arrival before the beginning of class), preparation for classes, and discussion. Attendance will be monitored; if you are ill and unable to come to class, you are expected to inform the professor before the class. GRADING Written assignments will be assigned a point value. Grades for
assignments turned in late will be lowered by 5 points per calendar day.
Make-ups for a missed mid-term exam will be arranged only for
5.
The point values for the written assignments are as follows.
The grade for participation will include both quantitative factors (such as class attendance) and qualitative factors (such as quality of contributions to discussions). The final grade will be calculated as a percentage of the total points on the course assignments (90% = A, 80% = B, etc.), as modified by the grade for participation. Please note: the plus (+) and minus (-) will be used in the final course grade (exception: there will be no A+). SCHEDULE Week Topic Assigned Reading 1 & 2 QUESTIONS OF DEMOCRATIC HEALTH Handout 2 & 3 THE CASES
September 9: lst Quiz
September 16: Essay Due 5
Political Parties and Elections LF, chs. 4,5 &
6
6
Institutional Reform:
LF, chs. 7-10
September 30: 2nd Quiz
6.
October 5: Preliminary Proposal Due 8 Political Parties and Elections
RT, chs. 4,5
October 12: Research Proposal and Bibliography Due 9
Competing Institutions
RT, chs. 6,7
October 19: Research Verification Due 10 Review and Mid-term October 26: Mid-Term CANADA
12 Political
Parties and Elections WWN, chs. 4,5,6
November 11: 3rd Quiz 13 Institutional
Evolution
WWN, chs. 8,9,10
November 18: Research Paper Due 14 Thanksgiving Break 15 REVISITING QUESTIONS
OF DEMOCRATIC HEALTH
17 Final Exams Week
Please note: the exam for this course will be given at the
time and place designated by the University. Our exam is scheduled
for Monday, December 13, 11:20 am - 1:20 pm.
For more information on the professor, please click on this link:
Sue Ellen Charlton
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