Final exam

• Most important theme of class


  Resurgence of the states
• Expansion of states


  • Institutional changes
  • Increased responsibilities of state governments
• Components of individualistic political culture


  • Utilitarian conception of government
  • Emphasizes centrality of private concerns
  • Community intervention should be limited to activities that keep the market/economy in good working order
  • Importance of party regularity
  • Politics is a specialized profession that is of minimal concern to laypeople
• Parties as


  Business organizations rather than ideological organizations
• Politics is


  A specialized profession that is of minimal concern to laypeople
• Conception of politics


  Businesslike, with some corruption expected
• Attitude toward the bureaucracy

  Ambivalent, favors of patronage or quid pro quo
• Some describe a state evolving into a hybrid of the moralistic and individualistic cultures
• Characteristics of hybrid state

  • Looser sense of connectedness
  • Heightened emphasis on budgetary issues
  • Declining respect for the state employees
• Might also be affected by the "nationalization" of U.S. politics
• Traditionalistic political culture


  • Accepts a substantially hierarchial society
  • Government is responsible for preserving the existing social order
  • Paternalistic and elitist
  • State is governed by an established elite
  • Others are not expected to participate in politics
• Minnesota's moralistic political culture has been associated with progressive politics and a large role for government
• Moralistic political culture


  Politics is a major concern for all citizens, and the government is expected to intervene to promote the public good, and advance the public welfare. The belief that the government should limit its role to providing order in society so that citizens can pursue their economic interests.
• Since the 1970s, state-level interest groups have increased in number and diversity
• Declining influence of "traditional interests"
• Traditional interests


  • Business groups
  • Labor groups
  • Agricultural groups
  • Education groups
  • Local government associations
• Sources of the advocacy explosion

  • Diversification of state economics
  • Increased activity of state governments, causing business involvement in politics
  • State governments face a wider range of more complex issues, leading specialized organizations to supplement "umbrella" groups
  • Explosion of public interest groups
  • Liberal gains spurred a conservative backlash
  • Decline of political parties
• Implications of advocacy explosion

  • Greater number and variety of groups
  • Existing groups are lobbying more intensively
• Single-member, simple plurality system

  Electoral system in which the state is divided up into geographic districts, and the candidates who won the most votes within their districts are elected
• "First past the post" system

  No reward for coming in second place
• Sources of the two-party system

  • A single-member, simple plurality system is an institutional barrier to third parties
  • Early voting
• Early voting


  Allows "no excuse" voting at various satellite locations during the 10-14 days before election
• Some form of early voting exists in dozens of states
• Impact on non-voters seems limited thus far
• Restrictions on early voting

  • Associated with "voter ID" laws in recent years
  • Treatment of convicted felons
• Proposition 13


  In 1978, the California Constitution was amended by the voters to restrict increases of property taxes. Proposition 13 requires assessment of each taxable property based on its fair market value and limits a property owner's general levy tax to 1 percent of the assessed value.
• Laboratories of democracy


  • Experimentation with new policy ideas
  • Experimentation
• Federalism enables states to experiment


  They face challenges and they want to try a new approach to addressing climate related issues or raising student achievement. If there is a challenge and you got a new policy idea, try it out in one state and see what works and what needs to be changed rather than at the whole national level. The U.S is a large country where states vary, not all states have the same things appeal to them. States have a better sense of what their people want, state legislatures is in better contact with their people than congress
• Benefits of states as "laboratories of democracy"

  • States as "closer to the people"
  • Flexibility and customization
  • Policymaking as a rational process of trial and error
  • States as testing grounds for new programs
  • Adjustment, institutional learning, feedback
• Balanced budget requirement


  Constitutional or statutory rules that generally prohibit states from spending more than they collect in revenue in a fiscal year.
• Competitive federalism

  A system in which states compete with one another by implementing different policies and programs, allowing citizens to choose the state that best aligns with their preferences
• Command-and-control system


  The "traditional" approach built on standards and enforcement. Congress established goals, EPA develops standards, states apply and enforce them. Created tension between federal and state regulators.
• Clean air amendments of 1990 break from the command-and-control tradition
• Major questions doctrine


  Agencies must point to "clear congressional authorization" to establish their authority to regulate. Assumption: Congress intends to make major policy decisions itself.
• West Virginia v. EPA (2022) highlights activities of executive branch agencies and state attorneys general
• Supreme court formally adopts the major questions doctrine
• Criticisms of major questions doctrine

  • Seems like a broad and malleable standard
  • No clear guidance about how to apply it
• Implications of major questions doctrine for federalism

  • Favors challenges of national agency action, such as states
  • Powerful tool for state attorneys general
  • Potential for conflict and for cooperation along partisan lines
• Common core


  An attempt to establish new standards for language arts and math, with a sense of urgency after issues with NCLB. "Fewer, clearer, and higher".
• Common core was a state-led effort by the Council of chief state school officers and National governors association