INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Kathy J Boyd
                           Graduate Programs - Europe
                           University of Maryland
                           Unit 29216, APO AE 09102

CONSULTATION HOURS: Before/After class by appointment or by email boyd@infonie.fr

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides the student with thebasic concepts, principles and practices of relationships between and amongthe different levels of government in the United States, as well as anintroduction to the evolving relationships between the US and other countriesin this era of globalization. The concerns addressed are: the structureimposed constitutionally, the characteristics of the tax system, complexitiesof the relationships, cooperation and conflict, conflict resolution, mandatedrequirements, and policy implementation issues. Also of concern are issuesthe issues of centralization and decentralization as they relate to performanceimprovement, the allocation of responsibility among the federal, stateand local governments, and the imposition of international structures.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

O'Toole, Laurence (Ed). American Intergovernmental Relations3 Edition. Congressional Quarterly (Washington DC: 2000)

Peterson, Paul. The Price of Federalism. Brookings Institution(Washington DC: 1995)

HANDOUTS: Additional materials including journal articles andnews reports may be handed out during class meetings.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: At the end of the course, the student shouldbe able to:

• read scholarly literature on the topics of federalism andIGR andwrite concise synoposesof the arguments presented by the scholars in that literature;
• discuss the constitutional basis of federalism and the differencesassociated with various forms of government;
• describe in summary fashion how IGR have developed from 1800to the present;
• describe fiscal patterns among the levels of government;
• analyze complex cases and relate them to IGR issues;
• design and present an oral reports on a policy area;
• express in writing the findings of research conducted ona policy area.

Quizes: Each major section of the O'Toole text concludes witha series of review questions (see pages 99-101, 188-190, 269-271, and 329-331.Note that Part V is not included in this count). Prior to each of the firstthree weekends of class, you will write a one page (2-3 paragraph)essay on each question. At the beginning of each weekend I will randomlyselect two questions for which you are required to submit the essays. Theessays will be graded and returned to you the same weekend.

Discussions: My teaching method places a great deal of emphasison participation and in-class discussions. The quiz exercise will ensurethat you have read and thought about at least some of the material foreach class meeting. I will ensure that you have ample opportunity to expandupon your ideas through active discussions. Listening to and asking relevantquestions or making observations on your classmates presentations is avital part of this process.

Presentation: The ability to prepare and deliver a coherent presentationin 10 minutes is an important professional skill, as is the ability toanticipate and field questions from an interested audience. You'll havethe opportunity to further hone this particular skill by presenting yourresearch paper to the class the last weekend.

Paper: The first day of class we will spend a considerable amountof time discussing the research paper assignment. In brief, your researchpaper will be on a policy topic involving IGR in some respect. The paperwill introduce the topic, review the policy history from an IGR perspective,analyze current developments and conclude with a reasoned projection orhypothesis of future developments. Thus, as you can see by reviewing thecourse schedule below, we will begin and end the course with discussionsof the future of the intergovernmental system as viewed by our textbookauthors. Your paper should go at least one step beyond that. The firstweekend of the course I will distribute a list of suggestions on styleguides, format, length, etc.

ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS/GRADING SCALE:
 

Grading Scale
 

SUPPLEMENTAL READING LIST:

The first weekend of the course, I will distribute a list of materialson reserve for your use. In addition, there is a wide range of materials/documents/websitesavailable by internet. The following list includes those I find most relevantto this course. Some of them could be used in conjunction with the requiredreadings for each weekend; some of them are more interesting as supportmaterials for your research projects. I encourgage you to review them earlyin the term so as to have a better idea how you might want to use them.

A Chronology of US Historical Documents  http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/

The Federalist Papers  http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/federalist/
The Anti-Federalist Papers  http://www.constitution.org/afp/afpchron.htm

National Partnership for Reinventing Government http://www.npr.gov/

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations - Research Collections,Government Documents Division, University of North Texas Libraries http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/acir/acir.html

Council of State Governments - http://www.statesnews.org/programs/index.html

National Conference of State Legislatures  http://www.ncsl.org/

National League of Cities http://www.nlc.org/

NAFTA Secretariat Information on provisions of North American Free TradeAgreement from organization responsible for its administration of the disputesettlement provisions  http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/english/index.htm

NAFTA's Three-Year Report Card: An "A" For North America's Economy byJohn Sweeney  http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/trade/bg1117.html

An explanation of what is in the NAFTA and how it works, according tothe US Trade Representative http://www.ustr.gov/reports/tpa/1996/regional_2.html

The full text of the North American Free Trade Agreement, broken intosections. http://www-tech.mit.edu/Bulletins/nafta.html

World Trade Organization Homepage http://www.wto.org/

United Nations Homepage http://www.un.org/

European Commission Homepage (English Version) http://europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm
 

COURSE SCHEDULE

9:00-12:00 The Future of IGR - Devolution or Centralization?

Peterson, pp vii-xix, Chap 1, pp 1-15 and Chap 8, 175-195
O'Toole, Part IV, pp 333-401

Review syllabus, discuss requirements and evaluation methods, introductionsand interests.  Discuss the future of IGR as viewed by the authorsof the two major textbooks and identify possible research topics.

13:00-16:00 The Grapes of Wrath and other Great American Dramas

O'Toole, pp vi-xiii, 1-31
Peterson, Chap 3, pp 50-84

On-Line Photos of the Great Depression and New Deal Era http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/gdphotos.html

Discuss the various epochs in American history which have proven tobe the major turning points in the development of modern intergovernmentalrelations. Additional support material will be provided during class.

Sunday, Jan 21:

QUIZ DUE: Prior to class, prepare a one page essay on each discussionquestion on pages 99-101. I  will randomly select two questions forwhich you must submit the essays for review.

9:00-12:00 Historical Perspectives on IGR

O'Toole, Readings 1-4, pp 37-73

And one of the following or corresponding printed material on the reservereadings handout:

A Chronology of US Historical Documents  http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/

The Federalist Papers and The Anti-Federalist Papers  http://www.constitution.org/afp/afpchron.htm

Discuss the historical documents and current historical perspectiveson the development of federalism and modern IGR.

13:00-16:00 Theoretical Perspectives on IGR

Peterson, Chap 2, pp 16-49
O'Toole, Readings 5-7, pp 74-98

Discuss the various theoretical perspectives on IGR presented by ourtextbooks authors.

Saturday, Feb 3: Political Aspects of IGR

QUIZ DUE: Prior to class, prepare a one page essay on each discussionquestion on pages 188-190. I  will randomly select two questions forwhich you must submit the essays for review.

9:00-12:00 - Diversity, Lobbying, PIGS, etc

O'Toole, Readings 8-10, 13, 15, pp 103-129, 152-159, 175-187

and the following or corresponding material on the reserve reading list:

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations - Research Collections,Government Documents Division, University of North Texas Libraries http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/acir/acir.html

National League of Cities http://www.nlc.org/

Discuss the size, scope and political dynamics of IGR

13:00-16:00 - Why the States Differ

Peterson, Chap 4, pp 85-107

and one of the following or corresponding material on the reserve readinglist:

Council of State Governments  http://www.statesnews.org/programs/index.html

National Conference of State Legislatures http://www.ncsl.org/

Discuss the similarities and differences between and among the 50 statesfrom an IGR perspective.

Sunday, Feb 4: Judicial and International Aspects ofIGR

9:00-12:00 Court Cases

O'Toole, Readings 11 & 14, pp 130-142, 160-174

Legal Information Institute:http://supct.law.cornell.edu:8080/supct/

Discuss the role of the Supreme Court and how particular cases havecontributed to modern IGR.

13:00-16:00 Preemption and International Affairs

O'Toole, Reading 12, pp 143-151

and some combination of the following or corresponding material fromthe reserve reading list:

NAFTA Secretariat Information on provisions of North American Free TradeAgreement from organization responsible for its administration of the dispute settlement provisions  http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/english/index.htm

NAFTA's Three-Year Report Card: An "A" For North America's Economy byJohn Sweeney  http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/trade/bg1117.html

An explanation of what is in the NAFTA and how it works, according tothe US Trade Representative http://www.ustr.gov/reports/tpa/1996/regional_2.html

The full text of the North American Free Trade Agreement, broken intosections. http://www-tech.mit.edu/Bulletins/nafta.html

World Trade Organization Homepage http://www.wto.org/

United Nations Homepage http://www.un.org/

European Commission Homepage http://europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm

Discuss the issue of preemption in the US and the globalization of IGR

QUIZ DUE: Prior to class, prepare a one page essay on each discussionquestion on pages 269-271. I  will randomly select two questions forwhich you must submit the essays for review.

9:00 -12:00 Grants, Revenue Sharing and Other Fiscal Instruments

O'Toole,  Readings 16-20, and 22, pp 191-240, 255-268
Peterson, Chap 6, pp 129-152

Discuss the various policy tools used in the implementation of IGR policy

13:00-16:00 Welfare and Urban Policy

Peterson, Chap 5 & 7, pp 108-128, 153-174

Discuss case studies; Additional material will be distributed duringclass

Sunday, FEb 18: Fiscal, Judicial & AdministrativeAspects of IGR

QUIZ DUE: Prior to class, prepare a one page essay on each discussionquestion on pages 329-331. I  will randomly select two questions forwhich you must submit the essays for review.

9:00-12:00 Court Cases

O'Toole, Reading 21, pp 241-254

Legal Information Institute:http://supct.law.cornell.edu:8080/supct/

Additional materials will be provided during class.

13:00-16:00  Administrative Perspectives of IGR

O'Toole, Unit 4, pp 273-328

Discuss the issues surrounding regulatory federalism and unfunded mandates
 

Saturday, Mar 3: Back to the Future

Research Papers Due

9:00-12:00 - Student Presentations

13:00-16:00  - Student Presentations

Sunday, Mar 4: Back to the Future II

9:00-12:00 - Student Presentations

13:00-16:00 - Course Summary and Evaluation

Please reread the material we began the course with:

Peterson, pp vii-xix, Chap 1, pp 1-15 and Chap 8, 175-195
O'Toole, Part IV, pp 333-401