PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS IN A DIVERSE SOCIETY

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS IN A DIVERSE SOCIETY"

Mercy Wilcox
6 years ago
Views:

1 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS IN A DIVERSE SOCIETY POL 596-TV Summer B 2014 M/W 5:30 8:30 PM Campo Sano 250A Alexander R. Ades a.ades1@umiami.edu Office Hours: By Appt. Office: Campo Sano 110C Course Description In taking up the question of the proper role of the bureaucracy in the modern, democratic, pluralistic state, this course will expose students to key authors and recurring controversies in the fields of political theory and public administration. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical literatures (and relating them to current events), students will think critically about such issues as: the democratic value of this 'fourth branch of government', the relationship between politics and administration, the nature of public goods and values, and whether and how public administrators should promote public values when they conflict with personal values (i.e., religious, moral, etc.). While the first half of the course explores these central questions in public administration theory, the second half delves deeper into the realm of political philosophy, surveying liberal, republican, realist, and communitarian responses to pluralism and drawing connections between these traditions and the themes and practical concerns discussed earlier in the course. By promoting a deeper understanding of the (often unacknowledged) theoretical underpinnings of different approaches to public administration and democratic politics, this class is intended to provoke students to reflect on their roles as citizens, and (in the case of MPA students) on their roles as future public servants. And, by closely and critically engaging with a variety of texts in a seminar setting, students will also become active consumers of social science research. Course Requirements Students final grades will be based on: Participation (20%) Two Discussion Papers and Presentations (35%) Final Paper (45%) As a seminar, class meetings are oriented around your careful reading and thoughtful discussion of the assigned readings. As such, you are expected to come to each class prepared and ready to discuss the materials. A good strategy is to have at least one thing you want to say, or question you want to ask, about each of the assigned readings. During class discussions it is your responsibility to get your views out on the table. On days where a student is presenting, he or she will be responsible for launching and framing the discussion. On days without a presentation, I will get the ball rolling, but it will be your collective responsibility to move the conversation forward, and in the direction that is most interesting and helpful to you all. 1

2 For the presentations, you will be asked to select two substantive readings on the syllabus (one from the first half of the semester, and one from the second). You will prepare a brief (1 2 page, double spaced, 12 pt font) discussion paper that will serve as the basis for a roughly 10 minute presentation. The discussion paper should be ed to the class no later than midnight the night before the presentation. Your discussion papers and presentations should be more than a mere summary of the reading. They should be organized into the following three sections. The first section of your paper (and the beginning of your presentation) should announce what you find to be the 2 or 3 most interesting and significant claims the selected reading advances, as well as identify whether (and, if so, how) that reading engages with and responds to the other readings for that class session (and/or previous readings). The second section should outline 1 or 2 reservations you have against the reading. And the third section should offer 2 or 3 questions to start off the class discussion. The final paper will be 7 10 pages in length (double spaced, 12 pt font) and on a topic of your choice (though it must be approved by me). The only guidelines are as follows: (1) The paper must be centered on, and critically engage with, one (or more, though it is not advised to take on too much) of the core concepts, themes, distinctions, or traditions covered in class (e.g., legitimacy, pluralism, the politics-administration dichotomy, political liberalism). (2) In addition to drawing on the readings discussed in class, it must also make reference to 2 or 3 articles or book chapters outside of the required readings (these can either be from the supplemental readings or independent research). (3) It must advance a clear thesis (i.e., it cannot simply restate the issue and summarize the relevant literatures, though this will be a necessary component of any complete paper). In articulating and supporting a thesis, your paper can take one of two forms. It can proceed entirely theoretically, arguing the point conceptually and analytically. Or it can apply theory to a real-world issue (i.e., a current event or practical problem); but it must do so in the service of the broader goal of proving a substantive thesis. Thus, you must demonstrate why closely examining the real-world issue you choose is theoretically illuminating. All students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the University of Miami Honor Code. Assignments will be screened by the instructor for signs of academic dishonesty and/or submitted through SafeAssign. Course Readings All required course readings will be available through Blackboard. You are not required to purchase any books. Supplemental readings (organized by topic) can also be found on Blackboard. These are provided for those interested in delving further into a topic, and they may also be helpful when it comes time to research and write your final papers. But you are not expected to have read them for class; you will only be held responsible for each session s required readings. 2

3 Schedule (Subject to change at the instructor s discretion) June 30: Introduction and the Politics-Administration Dichotomy (I) Overview of the course. Expectations and requirements. (1) Nabatchi, Tina, Holly T. Goerdel, and Shelly Peffer Public Administration in Dark Times: Some Questions for the Future of the Field. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 21, Special Issue: i29 i43. (2) Weber, Max Politics as a Vocation. Selected passages. (3) Wilson, Woodrow The Study of Administration. Political Science Quarterly 2, 2: (4) Waldo, Dwight The Value Problem in Administrative Study. (Excerpt from The Study of Administration). July 2: The Politics-Administration Dichotomy (II) (1) Overeem, Patrick The Value of the Dichotomy: Politics, Administration, and the Political Neutrality of Administrators. Administrative Theory & Praxis 26, 2: (2) Spicer, Michael W Introduction: Anti-Politics in Public Administration. In In Defense of Politics in Public Administration: A Value Pluralist Perspective (pp. 1 17). July 7: Legitimacy The Democratic Value of Bureaucracy (1) Bartels, Larry Rich People Rule! Washington Post (April 8). (2) Deng, Boer The Silver Lining to Our Oligarchy. Slate (April 24). (3) Burke, John P Bureaucratic Responsibility. (Intro and Chp. 4). (4) Stillman II, Richard J The Future of the American Bureaucratic System. (Excerpt from The American Bureaucracy: The Core of Modern Government) (Read pp , skim history on , read ). (5) Mosher, Frederick C Excerpt from Democracy and the Public Service. In Representative Bureaucracy: Classic Readings & Continuing Controversies (pp ). (6) Krislov, Samuel Excerpt from Representative Bureaucracy. In Representative Bureaucracy: Classic Readings & Continuing Controversies (pp ). July 9: The Dark Side of Bureaucratic Discretion (1) Epstein, Richard A Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration, and the Rule of Law. (Intro and Chp. 11). (2) EPA v. EME Homer City Generation (2014), Supreme Court (Selections from Justice Scalia s dissent). (3) Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA, Denial of Rehearings En Banc (2012), U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (Selections from Judge Kavanaugh s dissent). (4) Nielson, Howard Symposium: Constitutional First Principles and the Greenhouse Gas Cases. SCOTUSblog. (Feb. 10). 3

4 July 14: Public Value(s) (1) Moore, Mark H Public Value as the Focus of Strategy. Australian Journal of Public Administration 33, 3: (2) Benington, John and Mark H. Moore Public Value in Complex and Changing Times. In Public Value: Theory and Practice, eds. John Benington and Mark H. Moore (pp. 1 11, excerpt) (3) Jørgensen, Torben Beck and Barry Bozeman Public Values: An Inventory. Administration & Society 39, 3: July 16: The Public of Public Value(s) In Class: Vallejo Participatory Budgeting Mini-Documentary The People s Budget (1) Nabatchi, Tina Putting the Public Back in Public Values Research: Designing Participation to Identify and Respond to Values. Public Administration Review 72, 5: (2) Moore, Mark H. and John Benington Conclusions: Looking Ahead. In Public Value (pp ). (3) Predmore, S. Andrew, Marc J. Stern, and Michael J. Mortimer Constructing the Public: The Substantive Sieve and Personal Norms in US Forest Service Planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 54, 3: July 21: (Mal)administration in Action Film Screening: Recount (2008, HBO, 116 mins) July 23: Political Liberalism (1) Rawls, John Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. ( 1 4, 6 9, 11, 13 only). (2) Rawls, John The Idea of Public Reason Revisited. In The Law of Peoples (Intro and 1 3, 6 7 only). (3) Larmore, Charles The Moral Basis of Political Liberalism. The Journal of Philosophy 96, 12: , (Sections I-III and VIII only). Final paper topics due by on Friday, July 25 at noon 4

5 July 28: Realist and Civic Republican Critiques (1) Spicer, Michael W A Pluralist Approach to Public Administration. In In Defense of Politics in Public Administration (pp ). (2) Sandel, Michael The Public Philosophy of Contemporary Liberalism. In Democracy s Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy (pp. 3 24). (3) Box, Richard C., Gary S. Marshall, B.J. Reed, and Christine M. Reed New Public Management and Substantive Democracy. Public Administration Review 61, 5: July 30: Weak Communitarian Critique (1) Fleming, James E. and Linda C. McClain Ordered Liberty: Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues. (pp , 50 62). (2) Wolf et al. v. Walker et al. (2014), U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (Selections from Judge Crabb s opinion). Aug. 4: Strong Communitarian Critique and Virtue Ethics (1) Mulhall, Stephen and Adam Swift MacIntyre: Morality After Virtue. In Liberals and Communitarians (pp ) (2) Macaulay, Michael and Alan Lawton From Virtue to Competence: Changing the Principles of Public Service. Public Administration Review 66, 5: (3) Cooper, Terry Hierarchy, Virtue, and the Practice of Public Administration: A Perspective for Normative Ethics. Public Administration Review 47, 4: Aug. 6: Discussion of Papers and Course Recap Final papers due on Friday, August 8 at noon 5

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT United States Government provides a framework for understanding the purposes, principles, and practices of constitutional representative democracy in the United States. Responsible