Pols and Pals: Recent Episodes
TC
We discuss the three major functions of government, the social contract, and various political/economic ideologies.
We discuss;
Key features of the Constitution
Debates between Federalist and Antifederalist factions
The Major Branches of Government
The Supremacy Clause
The BIll of Rights
We discuss the trajectory of federalism in the United States and recent developments in devolution, along with key insights about state and local governments and the relationships all levels of government share.
We discuss public opinion and troubles associated with measuring it, the process by which we are socialized into politics and competing theories about this process, and the role of the media in 21st Century politics and policy!
Overview of questions/theories related to citizen participation. Discussion of Social Capital, Rational Choice, and Historical Institutional theories.
The roles of interest groups are discussed, along with each side of a long-standing debate: Are interest groups healthy for our democratic republic?