Paper #3

Public Policy and Democracy

For this paper you will consult with me to pick a specific public policy outcome, for example the enactment of a law banning partial birth abortion, or the failure of a bill to amend the constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. The outcome could be in any of the three branches of government, or even at the state or local level.

Your paper will answer the following question: Does this outcome, and the way it came about, reflect the plebiscitary, pluralist, participatory or trusteeship visions of democracy, or some combination of visions? Alternately, has the issue been resolved undemocratically?

To convincingly answer this question, you will need to research a) polling on this issue; b) the interest groups involved in this issue, and c) the process by which the current policy was enacted into law. Was the outcome favored by a majority, a minority, or is public opinion hard to characterize on the issue? Did public opinion affect the decision that was made? What interest groups are mobilized around this issue? What resources (votes, money, favorable media image) do the groups have? Were the sides balanced, or did one side have more resources? Did the balance of interest group pressure affect the decision that was made? Who were the key decisionmakers? Did they act as trustees, or were they swayed by public opinion and interest group mobilization? (Or were other factors involved?)

You may find that even after exhaustive research, you cannot definitively answer these questions. It is very hard to get into the mind of decisionmakers and tell why they did what they did. You should go no farther in your conclusions than your evidence suggests, and admit doubt where you have it. It is a hallmark of good social science to think carefully about the limitations of your evidence and the possibility of alternative conclusions.

There are many, many electronic and print sources at Wellesley available to help you with this research, including CQ Weekly, CQ Almanac Lexis-Nexis, the National Journal, Polling the Nations, and the Encyclopedia of Associations.

You will be graded on your depth of research, your citation of evidence, your use of course materials to analyze the policy process, your understanding of the four visions of democracy, and the consequent persuasiveness with which you answer the research question.