Question Set: The Bureaucracy, The Courts, Interest Groups, Public Opinion, Campaigns & Elections, and the Media
Learning Goal: I’m working on a political science question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
Please respond to five of the following six short response questions posted below. Your answers should be short, focused, and complete, ranging from two to three paragraphs. Please make sure to answer each specific part of every question. Successful answers will reflect your own thinking and understanding of the material. These answers will provide details and context that support your arguments and explain your position to the readers.
Each question is broken up into parts. Please be sure to address every part of the question!
1. A) What are principal-agent dilemmas, and how do they explain the challenges government officials face when they delegate power to the bureaucracy? B) Provide an example of a principal-agent dilemma in government [feel free to discuss the behavior of street-level bureaucrats OR the challenges Congress faces when delegating power to executive agencies (the bureaucracy). C) Explain how government solves (or mitigates) this principal-agent dilemma?
2. A) How do judges decide cases? Highlight several types of factors that contribute to their rulings. B) Why are the courts often considered the weakest branch? Why might this be wrong? (C) In recent years some have raised concerns that the Supreme Court has become politicized and partisan. Is this a problem for the Court’s legitimacy? Why or why not? (D)What reforms to the tenure, nomination, or organization of the Court [if any] could help reduce perceptions of partisanship?
3. Drawing from the readings, identify the important benefits and drawbacks of interest group participation in American politics. A) why do some argue that interest groups are beneficial to American lawmaking? B) What are the key concerns about interest group influence in elections and lawmaking. C) In your view, is such an interest group influence a problem for American democracy? Why? (D) What could be done to reduce interest group influence in our politics?
4. A) Where does public opinion come from? B) How do voters form political preferences and make political decisions when voting? C) In your view, what does this say about the ability of the American voter to participate and make an informed choice as a citizen?
5. A) What types of factors explain an individual voter’s probability of turning out to vote? B) What could be done to increase voter turnout? C) Turnout was exceptionally high in the November 2020 election — given the factors above, why was this? D) Following the 2020 election, a number of states have proposed or enacted stricter voting laws (Links to an external site.). What impact will these reforms have on voter turnout? Why? (Feel free to focus on a specific reform it from the provided link like limits on a vote by mail or tightening Voter ID requirements if it helps).
6. A) What factors influence how the media covers political issues? B) How do these standards influence the way the public thinks about policy problems, political events, and electoral contests? C) What could the media do to improve how Americans think about such important political problems?
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…
https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2017/9/the-…
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/arti…
https://medium.com/trust-media-and-democracy/parti…
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