The State, The Economy, and American Political Development focuses on the causes, nature, and consequences of key transformative periods and central patterns in American political history that affect the relationship between the state and the economy. The course explores patterns in the public policy process and examines historical processes to analyze American political institutions and policy outcomes from a political economy perspective. Students focus on the degree to which ideas and institutions from the Founding period created stability in American politics and investigate the role of events, ideas, or other forces in leading to periods of change. After starting with an in-depth review of the American Founding, we will examine the major epochs of state development, utilizing political science tools within the field of American Political Development to examine these changes. Special emphasis will be placed on the rise of the unique American regulatory and welfare state. Lastly, we will examine how the course of American political development has contributed to the features of today's political environment and what these patterns of development suggest for the future of American political economy.
