Program: PublicAdministration
CourseNumber: XXXX
Course:ThePublicPolicy Process andCriticalInfrastructure/DomesticSecurityPolicy
University ofXXXXXX
Fall/Spring Semester20XX
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COURSEDESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW:
Thiscourseis oneofeight corerequired classes ofa comprehensivegraduateprogram in Public Administration and Management, with an emphasis on critical infrastructuresecurity and resilience(CISR)in theUnited States. It is designed to help professionals with homeland securityand CISR responsibilities to betterunderstand thedesign of,constraints upon, and means ofimprovingthe domesticsecuritypolicies which theyare— orwill become— responsiblefor administering, designing, and improving. This courseis premised on the recognition thatpolicyanalystsand program administrators aremoreeffectivewhen theyareableto supplement theirbodyof knowledgewith an understandingofthepolitical forces and incentives that influencedecision-makingbyseniorpoliticalappointees and Members ofCongress.
For example, professionals with CISR responsibilities arefamiliarwith theconcept of risk management, whichare anyactivities that help prevent loss ofbusiness capabilities. Yet, understandingthe concept of risk management requires morethan just technical expertise. It involves understandingofpolitical judgments concerningthepublic’s tolerance for risk and the recognition that such assessments maybesubjectto sudden changes provoked bycrises, disasters, increased media attention, and otherfactors that mayshapepublicopinion. Dramatic changes in Japanesepublicopinion regardingnuclearpowerin thewakeofthe Fukushima disasteris onlythelatest exampleofthis volatility. Often such changes ofopinion aremagnified through therepresentativeprocess, making elected members ofCongressand politically appointed seniorleadership especiallysensitiveto such political risks. Effectivepolicyadvice requires arecognition of and accountingforthis reality.
Moreover, professionalswith CISR responsibilities need to understand howCISR policies are formulated in orderto makeinsightful recommendations to protect theorganization. Understandingwho themajorpolicymakers are(i.e. bureaucrats, subject-matter-experts (SMEs), institutions, etc.), theprocess policymakers useto prioritizeCISR issues, and the interrelationships that influenceresource allocation arecritical to thesuccess ofCISR professionals. Theyplaya critical role,at all levels ofmanagement, in thearticulation and recommendation ofprotectivegoals, developingand implementingplans, promotingemployee awareness, andgaining feedback to improve futureprotectiveactions. Forexample, all Federal laws originate from theU. S. Congress, whoalso determines agencyand program appropriations.
Theexecutive and legislativebranchesareco-equals and neithercan requireaction oftheother. Similarly, knowledgeoftheU.S. Federal system isessential to effectiveimplementation ofmost domesticpolicyin theUnited States, includingCISRand homeland security. TheFederalgovernment and theStates sharesovereignty. Thenational government cannot order actions byanotherlevel ofgovernment, nor commandeertheiradministrative resources. However, theFederalgovernment may, and often must, collaboratewith State and local governments to address common problems and shared responsibilities forpublicsafetyand infrastructureprotection. Such collaboration is often based onFederal assistancewhich is constrained byspecificregulations and mandates. Knowledgeofthese collaborativestrategiesinthe Federal system, aswell as thelegislative and executiveprocessesfordesigningand distributing grants in aid,is an indispensable attribute for effective administrators and policy analysts.
Consequently, thecourseexamines theinstitutional context formakingdomesticsecuritypolicy in theUnited States and theprincipalgovernmental and non-governmental actors involved in the policymakingprocess. Itanalyzes themajorstages ofthepublicpolicymakingprocess, includingagendasetting,policyformulation, policyadoption, implementation, and evaluation. Finally, the coursetakesa focused lookat thedynamics ofFederal policymakingin thespecific fields ofCISR, highwaytransportation, nuclearpowergeneration, and homeland security.
CREDITSCONFERRED: 3
PREREQUISITE: TBD
LEARNEROUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES:This courseis designed toenablelearners to:
•Gain an understandingoftheprincipal actors, institutions, and procedures involved in makingdomesticsecuritypolicy.
•Develop asophisticatedunderstandingoftheConstitutional systems ofseparation of powers andfederalism and how thesesystems shapepolicymakingand policy implementation in theUnited States.
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•Acquireknowledgeofthepolicyprocessacrossarangeofcritical infrastructure and homeland securityissues, includingtransportation, nuclearpower, nuclearwaste disposal, cybersecurity,and disaster response.
•Gain insights into how to effectivelyprovidepolicyadviceto elected andappointed officials.
•Improvetheir abilityto interpret, analyze,and evaluatepublicpolicyproposals and make sound inferences about thepotential foreffectiveimplementation.
•Understand differences in thepolitical dynamicsbetween different types ofCISR and homeland securityissues and theopportunities and challenges presentedat different stages ofthepolicyprocess.
•Understand thechallenges and opportunities for effectivepolicymakinginperiods of crisis, mass mediasaturation, and rapid shifts in publicopinion.
DELIVERYMETHOD:
Thecoursewill be conducted as agraduatelevel seminar. This requires active and informed participation byeveryonein the class. All learnerswill be expected to haveread and thoughtfullyconsidered each week's readingassignments. The assigned course readings include avarietyofresources, such as authoritativereadings (legislation, executiveorders, policies, and plans and strategies), implementation readings (government products that are responsiveor attempt to fulfill the requirements of authoritativedocuments), and externalreviews (U.S. Government AccountabilityOffice, CongressionalResearch Service,etc.). Thequalityof class discussions will be critical to theseminar's success. Inaddition, learners will makeoral presentations oftheirown research and provideconstructive adviceto theirpeers.
Learners are expected tofamiliarizethemselves with the assigned topicandreadings beforeclass and should beprepared to discuss and debatethem criticallyas well as analyzethem forbiases, particularlythe external reviews, and from multipleperspectives.Theinstructorwill facilitate thediscussion byasking different levels ofquestions (factual,analytical, and application ofthe material)to evaluatethedepth ofthelearner’s comprehension ofthe content.
COURSEREQUIREMENTS:
Therewill betwo principal writingassignments required in this course, aswell as atakehome midterm exam. Assignment onewill consist ofabrief5-7 page analysis ofoneweek’s readings in the course, alongwithabriefclass presentation ofkeyissues worthyof furtherdiscussion.
Each seminarparticipantwill also preparealonger, 20-25 pageresearch project in oneoftwo forms: 1)a research paperwhich analyzes the formulation, implementation, or evolution ofa majorpolicyissueinvolvingCISRor2)apolicymemorandum which analyzesaCISRissuewithin the context ofthepolicymaking environment and makespolicyrecommendationsto Congress orDepartmental executives. Learners will exchangeand critique each other's papers in small groups priorto final submission ofthepaper fora coursegrade. Furtherdetails about the research project options areprovided at the conclusion ofthesyllabus.
Therewill also beatakehomemidterm exam which will givelearners an opportunityto criticallyanalyze and integratemultiple course readings and topics and exploreinterrelationships between institutions in thepolicyprocess.
Finally,activeoral participation is expected of each learnerin each week’sclass session. Such participation should bepremised on acareful andthoughtful readingof allrequired texts.
COURSEEVALUATION:
Thefinalgrade forthis coursewill bebased on general class participation(15%); weekly paperassignment(15%); takehomemidtermexam(30%); and thepolicy researchpaper/policy memorandum(40%).
REQUIREDREADINGS:
Thefollowingbooksareavailable forpurchase and will besupplemented byadditional articles and chapters relevant to each class topic:
Joan Aron, Licensed To Kill? TheNuclear RegulatoryCommission and theShoreham Power
Plant, (UniversityofPittsburgh Press, 1998).
John Kingdon, Agendas, AlternativesPublicPolicy, 2nded., (Longman, 2010). Don Kettl, System under Stress, 2nded., (CQ Press, 2007).
Costas Panagopoulo andJoshuaSchank, All Roads Lead to Congress:The$300 Billion Fight
Over HighwayFunding,(CQ Press, 2008).
Robert Stoker, ReluctantPartners: Implementing Federal Policy(UniversityofPittsburgh Press,
1991).
JayShafritz, et. al., (eds.), Classics of PublicPolicy(PearsonLongman, 2004).
Richard Sylves,Disaster Policyand Politics (CQ Press, 2008).
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics and PublicPolicy, 3rded., (CQ Press, 2001).
ADDITIONALRESOURCES:
Robert T. Marsh, Critical Foundations:Protecting America’s Infrastructures, (1997),
Clark Staten, Reflections on the1997 Commission on Critical InfrastructureProtection Report, (1997),
Presidential Decision Directive-63, Critical InfrastructureProtection, (1998),
USA PATRIOTAct of2001,
Homeland SecurityAct of2002,
Homeland SecurityPresidential Directive-7, Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization and Protection, (2003),
Homeland SecurityPresidential Directive(HSPD-8): National Preparedness,
TheNational Strategyfor thePhysical Protectionof Critical Infrastructures and KeyAssets,
(2003),
TheSupport ofAnti-terrorism byFosteringEffectiveTechnologies Act of2002 (“SAFETY Act”),
Kathi Ann Brown, Critical Path:A Brief Historyof Critical InfrastructureProtection in the United States, Spectrum PublishingGroup, (2006),
Post-KatrinaEmergencyManagement Reform Actof2006,
National InfrastructureProtection Plan, (2009), ExecutiveSummary, Chapters 1 and 5,
TheWhiteHouse, National SecurityStrategy, (May2010),
Presidential Policy Directive-21, Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience,
Presidential PolicyDirective8 (PPD-8): National Preparedness:
TheWhiteHouse, International Strategyfor Cyber Space, (May2011),
TheWhiteHouse, National Strategyfor Global SupplyChain Security, (January2012),
Executive Order 13636, Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, 2013.
GRADING SCALE (SCHOOL POLICY DEPENDENT):
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CLASS OUTLINE:
LESSON 1TOPIC: COURSE OVERVIEWANDINTRODUCTION TOTHE INSTITUTIONALCONTEXT OF AMERICAN POLICYMAKING
1.Learning Goals/Objectives: Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•DescribetheConstitutional structureofAmericangovernment and thepowers and responsibilities assignedto theNational government and those reserved to theStates.
•Explain the Framers’assumptions about thenatureof and limitations upon representative government and theconstitutional devices intended to redress what Madison termed “the mischiefs of faction.”
•Explain how the concept of factions is expressed in contemporarysociety, in the form of modern interestgroups, political parties, and polarized publicopinion.
•Describethedilemmas posed forbasicConstitutional rights, suchas freedom ofspeechand freedom ofthepress, byadvances in communications technologyand theneed for cybersecurity.
•Explain thedebate about thelimits of rationalityinthepolicymakingprocess and the psychological dimensions ofpolitical understandingandcollectivedecision-making.
2.Readings:
TheU.S. Constitution,
James Madison, TheFederalist 10, in Shafritz, Classics of PublicPolicy, or
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics of PublicPolicy, Chapters 1 and 2.
Deborah Stone,“PolicyParadox,”in Shafritz, Classics of PublicPolicy.
John D. Podesta and Raj Goyle,“Lost in Cyberspace?FindingAmericanLiberties in a
Dangerous Digital World,”YaleLawPolicyReview, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Spring2005), 09-527.
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ACTORSANDINSTITUTIONS OFAMERICANPOLICYMAKING
LESSON 2TOPIC: CONGRESS ANDPOLICYMAKING
1.Learning Goals/Objectives: Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•List and describethestages ofthelegislativeprocess and theprincipal structures involved in theprocess, particularlythe roleofcommittees, leadership, and theappropriations process.
•Explain thedifferences in thedecision-makingstyles andrepresentativefunctions ofthe Houseand Senate.
•Describethe “unorthodox” forms of coalition buildingin the contemporaryCongressand the implications ofthese forthe content ofsecuritypolicy.
•Explain theimpact of constituencyinterests on legislativebehaviorwith particular application to homeland securityand CISR policy.
•Summarizethe complex web oflegislativeoversight overtheU.S. Department ofHomeland
Securityand homeland security/CISR policies.
2.DiscussionQuestions:
•What arethestages ofthelegislativeprocess?What aretheprincipal structures involved in thelegislativeprocess?
•What arethedifferencesin decision-makingstylesand representativefunctions oftheHouse and Senate?
•What arethe “unorthodox” forms of coalition buildingin the contemporaryCongressand what aretheimplications ofthese forthe content ofsecuritypolicy?
•What is theimpact of constituencyinterests on legislativebehavior, particularlywith regards to homeland securityandCISR policy?
3.Readings:
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics of PublicPolicy, Chapter5: “Cloakroom Politics.”
R.M. Coats and R. D. Tollison, “Terrorism and Pork-Barrel Spending,”PublicChoice, 128 (2006), 275-287.
StaciaGilliard-Matthewsand AnneSchneider,"Politics orRisks?An Analysis ofHomeland SecurityGrant Allocations to theStates,"Journalof Homeland Securityand Emergency Management, 7(1), (2010).
CSISand Business Executives in National Security,Untangling theWeb:Congressional Oversight and theDepartment of Homeland Security:AWhitePaper of the CSIS-BENS Task Forceon Congressional Oversight of theDepartment of Homeland Security(Washington, D.C., December10, 2004),at
4.Recommended:
BarbaraSinclair, UnorthodoxLawmaking:New LegislativeProcesses in theU.S. Congress, (CQ Press, 2011), Chapters 1-3.
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LESSON 3TOPIC: PRESIDENTIALPOLICYMAKING
1.Learning Goals/Objectives: Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•Explain the concept ofthe “two presidencies”andwhat that implies forhomeland security and CISR policy.
•Describethe formal powers ofthepresidencyfrom theinformal political resources thatare vital to effectivepresidential leadership.
•Explain thegrowingroleoftheinstitutional presidencyand how that relatesto relationships between theWhiteHouse and domesticsecurityagencies.
•Describethepresident’srolein disasterdeclarations and the rolethat politics can playin the declaration process.
•Describethepresident’srolein crisis management and theimplications ofthis forCIP
policy.
2.DiscussionQuestions:
•What is the concept ofthe “two presidencies”?What does this mean to homeland security and CISR policy?
•What arethe formal powers ofthepresidency?
•What is thegrowingroleoftheinstitutional presidencyand how does that relateto relationships between the WhiteHouse and domesticsecurityagencies?
•What is thepresident’s rolein disasterdeclarations? How arepolitics involved in the declaration process?
•What is thepresident’s rolein crisis management?How does this impact CISR policy?Give some examples when thepresident has impactedCISR policy.
3.Readings:
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics of PublicPolicy, Chapter6, “ChiefExecutivePolitics.”
Richard Neustadt, “Presidential Power: ThePowerto Persuade,” and Aaron Wildavsky,“The
TwoPresidencies,”in Shafritz, Classics of PublicPolicy. Richard Sylves,Disaster Politics and Policy, Chapter4.
Richard S. Salkowe andJayajit Chakraborty, “Federal DisasterReliefin theU.S.: TheRoleof Political Partisanship and Preferencein Presidential DisasterDeclarations and Turndowns," Journal of Homeland Securityand Emergency Management, 6(1),(2009).
4.Recommended:
R.A. Boin, P.’t Hart, E. Stern, andB. Sundelius, ThePolitics of Crisis Management:Public
Leadership under Pressure, Chapters 1-3,and 7, (CambridgeUniversityPress, 2005).
A.Reeves, Political Disaster? Presidential Disaster Declarations and Electoral Politics, (2007), available at
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LESSON 4TOPIC: BUREAUCRACYANDTHE POLITICS OFEXPERTISE
1.Learning Goals/Objectives:Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•List theprincipalexecutiveagencies concerned with CISR and homeland securitypolicyand explain how their roles have evolved overtime.
•Explain the contributionsof civil servants and technical and managerial experts to the formation and executionofpublicpolicywithin complexgovernment agencies.
•Recognizetheconcept of“street level bureaucrats” and theimplications ofthat concept for effectivepolicydesign and implementation.
•Describethe conditions underwhich political influences mayaffect CISR policyand disaster preparedness andresponse.
2.DiscussionQuestions:
•What aretheprincipalexecutiveagencies involved with CISR and homeland securitypolicy? How havetheir roles evolved overtime?
•What arethe contributions of civil servants and technical and managerial experts to the formation and executionofpublicpolicywithin complexgovernment agencies?
•What arethe conditions in which political influences mayaffect CISR policyand disaster preparedness? Givesome examples.
3.Readings:
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics of PublicPolicy, Chapter4: “BureaucraticPolitics.”
MichaelLipsky,“StreetLevel Bureaucrats as PolicyMakers,”in Shafritz, Classics of PublicPolicy.
Richard Sylves,Disaster Politics and Policy, Chapters 2, 3, and 5.
A.B. Krueger, At FEMA,Disasters and Politics Go Hand in Hand, (2005),available at:
CriticalInfrastructureResourceCenter:
4.Recommended:
M.W. Downton and R. A. Pielke, “Discretion without Accountability: Politics, Flood Damage, and Climate,”Natural Hazards Review, 2-4 (2005), 157-166
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LESSON 5TOPIC: POLICYMAKINGANDTHE COURTS
1.Learning Goals/Objectives: Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•Explain thelimitations on judicial involvement in thepublicpolicyprocessand theways in which the courts tangiblyaffect CISR and homelandsecuritypolicy.
•Describethe roleofcases and controversies in judicial decision-makingand how this shapes thenatureofjudicial influenceon publicpolicy.
•List Federal homeland securityand anti-terrorismlaws and explain thelegal issues that affect personnel engagedin homeland securityand CISR.
•DescribetheSupremeCourt’s “anti-commandeering”doctrine and theconstraints that this places onFederalgovernment relations with thestates.
2.DiscussionQuestions:
•How is thejudicial branch involved in thepublicpolicyprocess? How do the courts affect
CISR and homeland securitypolicy?
•What is the roleof casesand controversies in judicial decision-makingandhow do they shapethenatureofjudicial influenceon publicpolicy?
•List some examples ofhomeland securityandanti-terrorism laws andexplain how they affect CIP.
•What is theSupremeCourt’s “anti-commandeering”doctrine? What arethe constraints that this places on Federalgovernment relations with theStates?
3.Readings:
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics of PublicPolicy, Chapter7: “Courtroom Politics.”
WilliamC. Nicholson, “LegalIssues in EmergencyResponseto Terrorism,”Widener Law
Symposium Journal, 9(2), (November, 2002).
LloydBurton, “TheConstitutional Roots ofAll-Hazards Policy, Management, andLaw,"
Journal of Homeland Securityand Emergency Management, 5(1),(2008).
NewYork v. United States, U.S. 1041 (488 1992), available:
LESSON 6TOPIC: FEDERALISM ANDPOLICYMAKING
1.Learning Goals/Objectives: Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•List the constitutional and de factoresponsibilities ofthe Federal, State, and local governments in the fieldsofhomeland securityand critical infrastructurepromotion and protection.
•Describethe roleofStateand localgovernments in implementingFederal CISR and homeland securitypolicies.
•Describeinterstate and interlocal forms ofcooperation in homeland securityand CISR programs.
•Describethebenefits, costs, and limits on Federalgrants and mandates in thehomeland securityand CISR policyrealms.
2.DiscussionQuestions:
•What arethe constitutional and defacto responsibilities ofthe Federal, State, and local governments in the fieldsofhomeland securityand critical infrastructurepromotion and protection?
•What is the roleofState and localgovernments in implementingFederal CISR and homeland securitypolicies?
•What arethebenefits, costs, and limits on Federalgrants and mandates in thehomeland securityand CISR policyrealms?
3.Readings:
Richard Sylves,Disaster Politics and Policy, Chapter6.
Samuel H. Clovis,Jr., “Federalism, Homeland Securityand National Preparedness: A Case
Studyin theDevelopment ofPublicPolicy,”Homeland SecurityAffairs,II (3), (October2006).
Charles R. Wise and RaniaNader,“Organizingthe Federal System forHomeland Security: Problems,Issuesand Dilemmas,”PublicAdministration Review, 62, (September2002), 44-57.
PeterEisinger, “TheAmerican Cityin theAgeofTerror: A PreliminaryAssessment ofthe
Effects of9/11,”UrbanAffairs Review, (2004), 115–130.
4.Recommended:
DonKettl, TheStates and Homeland Security:Building the Missing Link, (New York: The
CenturyFoundation, 2003).
LESSON 7TOPIC: NON-GOVERNMENTALPARTICIPANTS INTHE POLICYSYSTEM
1.Learning Goals/Objectives: Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•Describethe roleofpublicopinion in shapingandconstrainingthedesign ofCISR and homeland securitypolicy.
•Explain business interests in CISR and otherpolicyareasand avenues ofcorporateinfluence on government decision-making.
•Explain issue framingand theshapingofpublicperceptions.
•Explain the roleoflobbyingin thepublicpolicyprocess, includingthe roleofsubnational officials in influencing Federal transportation infrastructurepolicy.
2.DiscussionQuestions:
•What is the roleofpublicopinion in shapingand constrainingthedesign ofCISR and homeland securitypolicy?
•What arethebusiness interests in CISR and otherpolicyareas? How does thebusiness communityexpress its views on CISR in thepolicymakingprocess?
•What is issue framing? How does this shapepublicperception?
•What is the roleoflobbyingin thepublicpolicyprocess, includingthe roleofsubnational officials in influencing Federal transportation infrastructurepolicy?
3.Readings:
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics of PublicPolicy, Chapter3: “Boardroom Politics.”
John Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and PublicPolicy, Chapter3.
RalfBendrath, “TheCyberwarDebate: Perception and Politics in U.S. CriticalInfrastructure
Protection,”Information &Security, 7, (2001), 80-103.
Joseph R. Marbach and J. WesleyLeckrone,“IntergovernmentalLobbying forthePassageof
TEA-21,”Publius, 32(1),(2002), 45-64.
BruceD. McDowell andSheldon Edner, “Federalism and SurfaceTransportation,”Publius, (Winter2002), 1-5.
4.Recommended:
MarieHojnacki and David C. Kimball, “TheWho and How ofOrganizations' Lobbying
Strategies in Committee,”The Journal of Politics,61(4), (November1999), 999-1024.
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LESSON 8TOPIC: THE MASSMEDIAANDPUBLICPOLICY MAKING
***TOPIC FOR POLICYMEMO/RESEARCHPAPERDUE
1.Learning Goals/Objectives: Thelearningobjectives ofthis section will enablelearners to:
•Describetheinteractions between media coverageand publicopinion in CISR and homeland securitypolicy.
•Explain the changingbusiness models in the communications industryandtheimpact on coverageofpolicyissues.
•Describethe roleofnewmediain framingCISR issues and shapingpublicpolicy.
•Explain theinfluenceofmedia coverageon bureaucratic and legislativedecision-making:
theDubai Ports case.
2.DiscussionQuestions:
•How is themedia and publicopinion involved inCISR and homeland securitypolicy?Give some examples.
•What is the roleofnewmediain framingCISR issues and shapingpublicpolicy?
•What was theinfluenceofmedia coverageon bureaucraticand legislativedecision-making in theDubai Ports case?
3.Readings:
Carl van Horn, Donald Baumer, and William Gormley, Politics of PublicPolicy, Chapter8: “LivingRoom Politics.”
MauraConway,“Media,Fear, and theHyperreal: TheConstruction ofCyberterrorism as the UltimateThreat to CriticalInfrastructures,”in Securing “theHomeland:” Critical Infrastructure, Riskand(In) Security, Myriam AnnaDunn and Kristian SøbyKristensen, (eds.), (Routledge, 2007).
MichelleSlone, “Responses to MediaCoverageofTerrorism,”TheJournal of Conflict
Resolution, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Aug., 2000), pp. 508-522.