GOVT 2305 UNIT 6

UNIT 6: THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH & FOREIGN POLICY

READ THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS FROM THE MARGIN NOTES.

The Presidency
the National Bureaucracy

WATCH THE FOLLOWING POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS.

A new screen will pop up.
Use the scrollbar on the side to navigate.
[This may take a few minutes to download.]

(OPTIONAL) READ THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS FROM THE TEXT.
12 - 13 & 18
OPTIONAL DOWNLOAD:
CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY Rubric

NOTE: TO DO

critical thinking ESSAY (20 POINTS)

A critical thinking essay is not difficult to write but it is a very structured piece of writing so it’s important that you read and follow the steps below in order.

1. We cannot take the time to fully explore what is meant by critical thinking. You do, however, need to have some general idea what critical thinking means in order to write a good critical thinking essay. Read WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING? before you do any work on your essay.

2. A critical thinking essay is very similar to an exploratory essay - a type of writing with which you may be familiar. It has a specific focus and a specific structure. Read WHAT IS A CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY? before you go any farther … Don’t try to wing this assignment!

3. Look at your topic carefully and make sure you understand it. Try rewriting it using your own words but keeping the meaning the same.

TOPIC

Although most people associate the term politics with government and governmental processes, the term is actually much broader. Politics refers to power relations wherever they exist, including those in one’s own life. Every group is political, for in every group there is a power struggle of some sort. Weber defined power as “the ability to get your own way even over the resistance of others.”

For society to exist there must be a system of leadership and power. Authority is the legitimate use of power that people accept as just. In contrast, coercion is the illegitimate use of power that people do not accept as just. Governments claim a monopoly on the legitimate use of power in a particular territory. Government also claims an exclusive right to punish people for violating its laws. The more its power is seen as legitimate, the more stable a government is. When people reject a government’s claim of power over them, it may result in revolution.

QUESTION: Do you think most power in America is legitimate and used only by those granted the authority to use it?

BASED ON MISTAKES BY PAST STUDENTS, HERE ARE SOME IDEAS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU START:
Be careful not to confuse the grant of power with the use of power. The president’s power is legitimate because we recognize it but what if he uses that power illegitimately? Your boss has the right to tell you what to do – that’s a legitimate use of power. But what if he/she requires sexual services of you? That’s not a legitimate use of power. The question you should ask is not do we recognize the legitimate right of people in certain positions to use power but rather do people in power use their power legitimately.

[NOTE: There is no right or wrong answer to the question posed by your topic. I'm not interested in what your answer is but in your rationale. Go back to an example I used earlier. You start out in favor of the death penalty because you believe it has a deterrent effect but all of the research shows there is no deterrent effect. If you end your essay still in favor of the death penalty, that's okay. If you end your essay still in favor of the death penalty because it has a deterrent effect, that's not okay since your rationale is not consistent with factual information.]

4. Look at the information and research about your topic in the margin notes & power point presentations from your course and in the links below. Use the information from these sources to write your essay. However, do NOT use any direct quotes, citations or references from these sources. The essay is too short for direct quotes ... use your own words. As for references, I've given you the sources so I'll know where the information came from. (I've tried to give you a wide range of sources and opinions in the reference list below. Inclusion on the list does not constitute an endorsement of either the sources or the opinions.)

Authority and Coercion (PDF)
A Democratic Conception of Legitimate Political Authority
Equality and Social Coercion ... (scroll to the bottom for the abstract)
Liberty vs. Coercion: The Burden of Proof
Power and Democracy
Power, Democracy and Iran
Democracy and power
For Richer
Science Matters, Tom Siegfried: Laws of power suggest that math can fight terror
Democracy: Its Foundations and Modern Challenges
Socratic Ignorance in Democracy
Kishore Mahbubani: The sermons of cowards
No Coercion
Philosophy of Democratic Government
Democratic Policing
power - class, status
The Original Meaning of "Democracy": Capacity to Do (PDF)
Democracy is Not Freedom
On Power: The Independent Institute
Fear: The Foundation of Every Government’s Power
download free Adobe PDF reader 9.3
download RESOURCE LIST - This is an Excel file of current articles from popular magazines and anthologies that I update at least weekly. The articles are sorted by course. If you would like to download the file but do not have Excel, you can download Excel Viewer 2003 free. It allows you to open, view and print Excel workbooks, even if you don't have Excel installed.
ONLINE DATABASES - Some of the links above may take you to an article's abstract rather than the complete article. If you want to see the entire article but the site requires registration and/or payment, try your college library's online database. Almost all articles can be accessed through a database ... that's why colleges purchase databases for student use. I've checked and all of your colleges have databases that you can access online. Call your college librarian and ask for your username & password and for directions.

I do not expect you to use additional sources of information on your topic. If you do, you MUST cite and reference any additional sources using the following format.

Last, First. year. Book Title. City: Publisher.
Last, First, and First Last. year. Book Title. City: Publisher.
Last, First. year. "Article Title." Journal Name volume (issue): pages.

For additional details, see HOW DO YOUR FORMAT YOUR REFERENCES USING THE APSA FORMAT?

5. You may use any font and line spacing you wish when formatting your essay but the content of your essay must be a minimum of 750 words. You must also adequately cover your topic, though, and you may find it difficult to completely cover your topic in 750 words unless you are extremely concise. If you feel you need more length to cover your topic, you are welcome to write a longer essay. However, you are only required to write an essay the content of which is 750 (not 749) words in length. If the content (that does not include your name, type of assignment, citations, etc ... only the actual content of the paper itself) is not at least 750 words in length I will return your paper to you unread.

Your critical thinking essay should follow a specific outline. Before you begin the writing phase of your essay, read CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY FORMAT. The outline given is the one you need to follow in your essay. Too, take your time proofing your essay for spelling and grammar mistakes. If spelling and grammar are not among your talents, ask a friend who is good with spelling and grammar to proof your essay. “A” papers do not have spelling and grammar mistakes!

Under the Optional Downloads section at the top of this page, I have posted a copy of my grading rubric for the critical thinking essay.

6. By the deadline shown in the Course Schedule on the main page of the syllabus:

Send your Critical Thinking Essay in the body of a new email to dramyglenn@earthlink.net.
Put only your name and Essay at the beginning of your email.
Use the correct subject line.
Late essays will lose one point per day late, including weekends and holidays.