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"For almost all of us, politics is the chief moral theater of our lives," wrote Ronald Dworkin in Is Democracy Possible Here?) This course analyzes the impact of interest groups in the public policy arena at all levels of U.S. government. How have "special interests" affected the evolution of the "red" Republican Party and the "blue" Democratic Party and, indeed, the shape of our democracy? By the end of the course, students will not only understand the evolution of interest groups but learn how to build consensus around core values. Topics include evolving traditions of citizen participation; the post-1960s emergence of special interest groups; campaign finance reform; case studies in health care; environmental and housing policy; and lessons learned from the recent presidential campaign. Part of the Public Policy specialization.
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