Study Guide for Exam III 

 

“Governmental Institutions”

 

 

Necessary readings and analysis assignments:

 

Dye and Zeigler Chapters 9-12

MicroCase  11-14

 

Key terms:

 

Go to Key Concepts Link

you are responsible for all concepts associated with Chapters 9-12

 

 

The format will be:

True-False

20%

Multiple Choice

30%

Short Answers

25%

Essay

25%

 

 

 

Possible Essay Questions:

 

1.  Identify the types of interest groups, the resources of interest groups and the conditions that increase interest group strength.  Why are government interest groups at an advantage and how does this support the “cozy or iron triangle” notion developed by Theodore Lowi?

 

2.  Identify the four key factors influencing how Congress operates.  Explain how “the unwritten rules of the game in Congress” can be seen as supporting a pluralist explanation of Congress.

 

3.  Demonstrate how changes in the approach to studying the presidency reflect changes in the development of the discipline of political science.

 

4.  Identify and describe the basic concepts in Barber’s approach to understanding presidential behavior through the concept of “character”.   What is the typology the Barber develops (it’s components and cell categories).  Which character type is most likely to do harm to “the pendulum of power”?  Explain.

 

5.  What are the basic components of the concept of “bureaucracy”?  What subverts the goal of “efficiency”?  How does a career civil service fit in with Lowi’s idea of “the cozy or iron triangle”?