Dr. Alfred G. Cuzán

We begin our exploration of the American presidency with a critical overview of the constitutional parameters of the executive office. What did our founding fathers expect from an executive? From there we examine how the presidential institution has evolved since the founding. The presidency definitely has a somewhat different place now in our separated system of branches sharing power than it once did. One of the most important features we address is how individual presidents have impacted the scope and direction of the office. We highlight the important role of person style, leadership, persuasion, and charisma as an influence on American government as a whole. Finally, we evaluate competing theories of presidential power to see how useful they are in explaining contemporary presidential politics.

Course content includes an overview of the institutions and processes of the American political system, the trend and tendencies of political behavior, and the diverse theoretical understandings of American government in the world of political science. Focus is on understanding and critically evaluating interpretations of the structure and function of our governmental system, including: the three branches of government, elections, political socialization and civic engagement,representation, political parties, and interest mobilization.

This course has two objectives in mind. One is to inquire into methods of analysis that borrow certain ideas from economics, such as self-interest and incentives, to the study of politics. One might call this the methodological objective. The other objective is to examine the reciprocal relations between government and the domestic economy. Specifically, it surveys what political scientists and public intellectuals have said about the effect of economic conditions on regime survival and elections, on the one hand, and on the other the impact of regime type and public policy on various measures of the general welfare as economic growth, human development, and income or wealth inequality. We shall begin with excerpts from ancient and modern thinkers, then proceed to analyze scholarship by contemporary political scientists and political economists.

The course will carry out an analysis of Cuban politics, domestically and in relation to the USA, from the outbreak of the Spanish-American War to the present, with special emphasis on the Castro era (i.e., 1959 to the present). The analysis will compare Cuba's standard of living, nature and structure of standing before Fidel Castro seized power in the early years of the Cuban Revolution and at different times during his nearly 50-year reign. Some attention will be paid to how Cubans who came to the USA after Castro have fared, especially politically. Meets Multicultural Requirement.

The course will carry out a comparative analysis of dictatorships across time and space, with special attention paid to 20th century totalitarian regimes, including those of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. The analysis will focus on some of the causes for the rise and fall of these dictatorships, their ruling personalities and methods, the costs imposed on their subject populations, and their long-term effects on the politics of their representative countries. Course readings range from selections on tyranny from classical political philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Suetonius, and Machiavelli to modern biographical works and empirical analysis pieces. Historical cases from several continents are evaluated using a variety of media that may involve scholarly texts, novels, and films in order to draw parallels and contrasts among the cases.