Why does half the American electorate refuse to vote on polling day? Why do American politicians need to raise vast amounts of money to get elected? Why is it that America can elect a President who has fewer popular votes than his opponent? Why do Americans sometimes choose a President from one party and simultaneously give control of Congress to the other party? Why do some justices change their political views once they become members of the Supreme Court? Why can't American government regulate the undemocratic power of interest groups? Why isn't there a dime's worth of difference between the two major parties in the United States?

While such questions highlight some of the more sensational aspects of contemporary American government, they also direct attention to the fundamental complexities and dynamics of the American political system which this course seeks to identify and explain. The syllabus is designed to provide a broad and critical introduction to the structure and processes of government in the United States, an analysis of the political behaviour and political ideas of the American people, and some basic knowledge of current public policy issues in American politics.

The course begins with an examination of the origins of American government, the political ideas of America's Founding Fathers, and the nature of American constitutionalism, in order to provide the necessary background to the study of government institutions and political processes in contemporary America.

The major part of the course will cover the organization and structure of Congress, the nature of the Presidency and the executive branch of government, the role of the Supreme Court with particular emphasis on its political and policy impact, political parties, electoral politics with a special focus on the 2008 presidential election, voting behaviour and voting turnout, the political impact of the mass media, interest group politics, the character of American federalism, and politics at the state and local level.

The course will conclude with an examination of some theoretical contributions to the debate about the distribution of power in the United States and the nature of American democracy.

The assessment will be based on two essays to be submitted during the year and an examination at the end of the year.

Full-year course. Two lectures and one tutorial per week. Lectures are not taped but written lecture summaries are made available on the course web page.

THIS COURSE WILL NOT BE OFFERED IN 2009. IT WILL BE OFFERED IN 2010.

Two first-year courses in Political Science or with the permission of the lecturer.

*N.B. Students who wish to take this course must enrol in both POLS2013A (First Semester) and POLS2013B (Second Semester). This course continues over a full-year and is not divisible into semesters. There is no formal assessment at the end of the first semester. You will not receive a final grade until you have completed Part B at the end of the year. If you drop Part A in first semester, you must also drop Part B.

McKay, D. American Politics and Society. (Sixth Edition) Blackwell, 2005.