Midterm

State and Local Government / Andrews

Spring 2017

Midterm

You have 40 minutes to respond to 4 questions – i.e. 10 minutes each.

1) What is “devolution?” Which of our speakers so far has addressed topics relating to devolution most explicitly? What perspective did he or she share on this topic?

Must be clear in which direction this goes... devolution is movement of authority from federal to state or local levels. Lewis was a good example of something going up from local to federal (marriage equality) and and also something going up (transgender bathroom use) and then being thrown back down to state level.

2) Distinguish between “lobbyists,” “interest groups,” and “PACs.” Provide concrete examples of each using either your community partner or one of our speakers. Is your CP/the speaker a lobbyist? An interest group? A PAC? Does your CP / the speaker hire such individuals or groups?

Lobbyists are generally paid. They may not necessarily agree with the position they lobby for. Interest group members are generally not paid. They may engage in unpaid lobbying efforts on behalf of their interests.

3) The authors of your textbook note that “the condition of contemporary American political parties has been described with words such as decline, decay, and demise” (93). Do you agree that this describes American political parties in 2017? Give examples to support your answer.

Would your answer be different if the question were about the condition of the American two-party system, rather than the parties?

4) What is meant by the “capacity” of a government or an organization? Where does your community partner reach the limits of its capacity?

Limits on its ability to meet its goals and fulfill its purpose. Can be limits of space, manpower, budget, etc. Not necessarily imposed by regulations... one can easily imagine, for example, an organization that has the capacity to serve twice as many clients as it does, but is limited by government hurdles. So in this case it isn't a matter of it reaching its capacity but of government preventing it from achieving its capacity. There is a difference. Another way to look at it is that an entity that has more capacity is considered "underutilized."

5) In what ways is your community partner an active or passive participant in the community in which it operates? Use the criteria outlined in Figure 4.1 on page 71 of your textbook to guide your answer.

Be sure to use the terminology from the book in answer. The more descriptive and detailed you can be in sharing examples from your CP, the better.

6) In what ways does your community partner provide opportunities for citizen volunteerism? Do volunteers become active or passive participants in the community? Use the criteria outlined in Figure 4.1 on page 71 of your textbook.

As above.