Political Parties

Catalog description

Though the Constitution is largely silent about them, political parties and interest groups perform indispensable functions in modern democracies. Despite their importance, these institutions are often misunderstood by the public and there is a deep ambivalence toward these political organizations. In this course we will pursue a detailed understanding of parties and organized interests in America – how and why parties and organized interests form, what they do, and what we might want them to do.