PSC 316—Politics of Political Choice

This course considers the principles and practice of politics. Citizens in democracies are socialized to believe that certain ideals are upheld when political choices are made. These ideals range from voters making informed, issue-oriented decisions, to elected politicians enacting policies in pursuit of national interests, to government officials implementing those policies, to maximize the public good. Politics in practice, however, conflicts with these ideals. In general, political outcomes are the results of decisions by strategic, goal-oriented actors who promote their interests by choosing the best responses to the expected behavior of other strategic, goal-oriented actors. When these actors have competing interests, institutions and uncertainty shape political outcomes as much as the political decision-makers? preferences over the set of possible outcomes. This course examines why this contrast between the principles and practice of politics exists and how values and ideology interact with strategic calculations to drive the choices made by political actors.