Faculty and students interested in political science have been extended a unique opportunity to hear a variety of well-qualified lecturers in their field, thanks to the Department of Political Science’s quest to hire a new public policy professor.
“The political science department is in the process of searching for a new member of our faculty in the area of public policy,” Jana Morgan, assistant professor in political science, said. “Over the next three weeks, we will interview five different job candidates on campus. They will be meeting with faculty and delivering presentations about their research.”
Pam Clouser McCann joined students and faculty in the Baker Center to discuss federal policy design dilemmas. This topic comprises a part of her current dissertation project.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Pam to campus,” John Scheb II, professor in political science, said. “She is currently finishing her doctorate at the University of Michigan.”
McCann takes a non-traditional approach to her dissertation, questioning the validity of the political science theorem that conventionally expresses that Republicans consistently devolve federal power.
“This may be a conventional theorem since Republicans over time have argued against a strong central government, but I don’t believe it holds true always,” McCann said.
Personal experience helped McCann craft her hypotheses.
“I often worked with federal agencies, dealing with the implementation of decisions made by Congress,” McCann said. “I noted the amount of power and authority the states have in relation to these agencies, such as the Department of Education. Bureaucratic control can be studied across the different agencies, in health and environmental safety as well. States are often interacting in bargaining with the agencies more than Congress.”
States, given their congressional representation, are involved in the domestic legislative policy constructs that are created out of tension between federal and state control.
“When states are given more authority, statutes are tailored to state populations, creating discrepancies on the national level,” McCann said.
States are given more or less authority in national legislation by active or inactive representatives and senators. Different policies are sometimes designated to be more efficiently handled at the central level, while some policies are believed to be better handled by the states individually.
“My theory states that when Republicans are in power, if most of the states are Democratic, the positioned Republicans will hold power on the central level,” McCann said. “Conversely, if Republicans are in power in the states, federally positioned Republicans will try to turn power over to state governments. The same techniques are practiced by the Democrats as well.”
When McCann talked to politicians working on health care, she discovered states were often viewed as a delegation option. Legislators functioning in the intergovernmental context are forced to think about how much power they would like the states to hold.
McCann asked what motivation legislators hold, specifically when evaluating their choices as to whether they should increase or decreased centralize authority.
“Outcomes are a combination of state choices and national choices,” McCann said. “Congress is a variable in this equation, depending on the amount of control it devolves to the states themselves.”
This determination, in her opinion, depends upon the party in control of the executive and legislative branches.
“If there is a Republican president, Republicans in Congress will try to keep authority centralized, contrary to the common theory that Republicans seek to devolve power back to the states,” McCann said.
Overall McCann presented a collection of interesting statistics to model her theorem. She received a congenial response from faculty, who offered many insightful queries surrounding her research.
Many additional engaging lectures are anticipated to ensue in the coming weeks.
Each of the candidates visiting campus will deliver a presentation to political science faculty and enthusiasts as part of their interview process. This presents a great opportunity on campus to experience several fascinating lectures by the upcoming intellectual players in the field of political science.
Tasha Fairfield, who received her Ph.D. from Berkeley, already visited campus and led a discussion on the “Elites, Power, and Taxes in Latin America” on Nov. 8.
Various lectures will continue to take place through Nov. 22.
Today, Nicholas Carnes, a doctoral candidate at Princeton, will present a lecture entitled “Class and Representation: U.S. Legislators’ Social Backgrounds and Economic Policy Choices” at 3 p.m. in the Baker Center.
Eduardo Moncada, a doctoral candidate at Brown University, will present a speech entitled “Politics, Buisness and Violence: Urban Security in Colombia (1988-2008).” The speech will take place Thursday at 2 p.m. in McClung Tower 1210.
Also, Tiffany Davenport, a doctoral candidate at Yale, will present her speech entitled “Behavior Consequences of U.S. Government Policies: The Effect of a Son’s Risk of Conscription on the Political Participation of his Parents” on Monday, Nov. 22 at 3 p.m. in the Baker Center.
