School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs
Political Science PhD Comprehensive Examination
in American Government and Politics
May 2015
Section 1: Methodology
Answer ONE of the following Questions
1. The world is awash with, and sometimes enamored by, “big data.” Modern technology and communication provide us with the opportunity to gather, store, and learn from a variety of human behaviors and interactions in the social and political world. Some might approach such data with the intent to “mine” it to look for patterns that might reveal previously unexplained phenomena or behaviors. Others, may use a deductive approach and use data to analyze expected patterns. Discuss the trade-offs of these approaches. Which is more common in political science? Is this trend changing? How do the methodological and analytical tools available to scholars affect their approach to data?
2. In the social sciences, our observations overwhelmingly tend to be people. We assume that we can measure their attitudes and behaviors and derive many theories from this basic assumption. People however are not stars, planets, comets, or trees. Unlike hypothesis testing in the natural sciences, we often assume that agency allows people to behave or believe what they choose. Some have used this distinction to say that social scientists are not scientists at all. Explore this debate in a way that shows a) how we can be scientific in the study of people and the institutional structures they create, and b) effectively measure their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.
Section 2: Issues in American Politics
Answer TWO of the following questions
1. Public opinion research has often examined both the short-term and long-term stability (or instability) of issue attitudes. What contributes to attitude instability? How do we perceive shifts in the mood of the American people? Are the shifts the same for all people? On all issues? How do system shocks resonate and alter the structure of attitudes? Is there a relationship between shifts in mass attitudes and shifts in the partisan landscape of America?
2. What are the dominant theories that have described the sources of presidential power? Which of these best describes the modern presidency? What evidence supports a claim that the presidency has become more powerful, as an institution, in recent decades? Where do argumentsthat presidents influence Congress only “at the margins” fit into theories of presidential power?
3. Some scholars argue that polarization in the mass public in the United States causes polarization in Congress. Others argue that voters have physically sorted themselves into homogenized districts that tend to elect partisan purists, which contribute to polarizing behavior in Congress. Which case is supported by stronger evidence – that polarization in the electorate causes polarization in Congress, or that physical sorting, absent any change in political attitudes among the public, combined with electoral institutions result in polarization? Are there other compelling theories of polarization in Congress? Which argument is supported by the strongest evidence?
4. One important theme in the study of American bureaucracy (at the national level) is the relationship between bureaucracy and democracy. Why is this a tension under the US Constitution? In answering these questions address the following issues:
A. What is the appropriate role of Congress in delegating authority to the executive branch, generally and with respect to regulation? What is the appropriate role of Congress in overseeing executive branch execution of the laws?
B. In what ways do presidents influence executive branch agencies? What is the appropriate role of the White House staff? What is the relationship between political appointees and career civil servants?