Political Science 304 - Parties and Elections

In this course we will examine how the interactions between the Constitution and the party system have shaped American political development. Scholars of comparative constitutionalism have shown that, while thirty-two countries in the Americas, North and South, have adopted constitutions based on the separation of powers, only one of them, the United States, has avoided collapsing into presidential dictatorship. Our endurance as a constitutional democracy may be rooted in the nature of the American party system, but if our parties are losing control over American politics, are we coming to the end of American exceptionalism?

Limited to 18 students, consent required if not a POSC major. Fall semester. Visiting Professor Robinson.