POLI330 All Discussions Latest 2017 November

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WEEK 2: UNDERSTANDING THE THEORIES

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As your text explains, Plato is considered the father of political science. Within The Republic, he presents his theories on the foundations of a perfect government. Rather than a theoretical examination of government, The Republic is written in story form, as the main character Socrates explores the ideal way to form a city.

A largely studied portion of The Republic deals with Plato’s cave allegory. The story goes something like this: You, as a person, find yourself within a cave, chained to the ground, facing a stone wall. You cannot stand, and all you know are the images that play out before you, which are the shadows cast by a light source from behind you. You cannot see behind you, but you know that there are others in the cave with you. This is the only state you have ever known. It is your only reality of the world. Plato goes on to explain that then one day, people come and remove your chains, and take you out of the cave. As you can imagine, you are scared and frightful, and thus fight these individuals as they drag you into this new setting. However, over time you learn to accept the larger image of the world around you and come to understand life outside of the cave. You then attempt to go back into the cave to free others.

This story was Plato’s attempt to explain the world around us. Just picture it: You are chained to the ground and all you can see in front of you is a cave wall. There is a light source behind you, which casts reflections on the wall.

What do you think you would think of these reflections? Could they represent family members? Or friends? What about a god?

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WEEK 2: LIBERALISM VERSUS SOCIALISM

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The term liberalism, when applied to governments, is very different from the term liberal in America. Where liberalism implies a limited government, here in the United States a liberal is not usually seen as supporting a smaller government. This can be very confusing. In an effort to better understand these various meanings, we need to explore the variations within liberalism itself.

So who would like to explain how modern liberalism varies from classical liberalism? In addition, in what ways is classical liberalism similar to conservatism today?

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Over the past few weeks, we have had the opportunity to explore the roots of political philosophy. Let’s take a moment to focus in upon the idea of democracy. What is the true definition of democracy?

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WEEK 3: THE DIVISION OF POWER

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As we have seen through our readings, governments differ on where the power of the state should be held.

Unitary systems concentrate the power within the central government and little or no authority is granted to the component areas. In contrast, federal systems allow first-order civil divisions to have some autonomy, while the central government maintains authority over some areas.

Take a moment to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of each system.

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Choose an interest group from the following list:

http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/GHurst/files/25%20most%20effective%20interest%20groups.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Report on the group's: -issue agenda -membership -amount of money spent -political tactics -alignment with a political party

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WEEK 4: ELECTIONS

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Compare and contrast single-member districts and proportional representation (PR). How effective is each electoral system in representing its people’s interests? How do they support the party systems around which they arose?

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As we turn our focus to the international realm, let’s take a moment to compare the governmental systems of the United Kingdom and the United States.

Identify a few key differences between a parliamentary and a presidential system. How is the top leader selected differently? How do you think this difference impacts the kind of people who are chosen?

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WEEK 5: JUDICIAL BRANCH

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Choose one of the following questions:

1. Discuss the judicial philosophy of one of the current nine Supreme Court justices.https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

2. Discuss the structure of the federal judicial system

http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

3. Discuss the significance of one of the Supreme Court cases on this list:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/26/supreme-court-cases-history/29185891/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

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In discussing the concept of violence this week, let’s take a moment to consider the following situation.

Imagine a country where religious factions inside a nation want to have their own separate homeland. The government refuses, claiming that the territory in question, which commands the nation’s only source of clean water, is vital to security. Is violence inevitable?

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WEEK 7: INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

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In considering the international realm, let’s consider the concept of economic treaties. Specifically, let's think about an organization like the European Union (EU).

Why was it formed? In addition, what are some of the objectives of the nations that are joining the EU?