This text is a comprehensive introduction to the vital subject of American government and politics. Governments decide who gets what, when, how (See Harold D. Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How, [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1936]); they make policies and pass laws that are binding on all a society’s members; they decide about taxation and spending, benefits and costs, even life and death.Governments possess power—the ability to gain compliance and to get people under their jurisdiction to obey them—and they may exercise their power by using the police and military to enforce their decisions. However, power need not involve the exercise of force or compulsion; people often obey because they think it is in their interest to do so, they have no reason to disobey, or they fear punishment. Above all, people obey their government because it has authority; its power is seen by people as rightfully held, as legitimate. People can grant their government legitimacy because they have been socialized to do so; because there are processes, such as elections, that enable them to choose and change their rulers; and because they believe that their governing institutions operate justly.Politics is the process by which leaders are selected and policy decisions are made and executed. It involves people and groups, both inside and outside of government, engaged in deliberation and debate, disagreement and conflict, cooperation and consensus, and power struggles.In covering American government and politics, this text introduces the intricacies of the Constitution, the complexities of federalism, the meanings of civil liberties, and the conflicts over civil rights;explains how people are socialized to politics, acquire and express opinions, and participate in political life; describes interest groups, political parties, and elections—the intermediaries that link people to government and politics; details the branches of government and how they operate; and shows how policies are made and affect people’s lives.

"This course teaches students how to understand the rationality behind how organizations and their programs behave, and to be comfortable and analytical with a live organization. It thereby builds analytic skills for evaluating programs and projects, organizations, and environments. It draws on the literature of the sociology of organizations, political science, public administration, and historical experience-and is based on both developing-country and developed-country experience."

This course will acquaint the student with some of the ancient Greek contributions to the Western philosophical and scientific tradition. We will examine a broad range of central philosophical themes concerning: nature, law, justice, knowledge, virtue, happiness, and death. There will be a strong emphasis on analyses of arguments found in the texts.

Written as events unfolded, this edited collection of articles offers insightful and diverse perspectives on the Arab uprising, and expands to consider related political unrest outside the predominantly Arab world.

The U.S. political system suffers from endemic design flaws and is notable for the way that a small subset of Americans—whose interests often don’t align with those of the vast majority of the population—wields disproportionate power. Absent organized and persistent action on the part of ordinary Americans, the system tends to serve the already powerful. That’s why this text is called Attenuated Democracy. To attenuate something is to make it weak or thin. Democracy in America has been thin from the beginning and continues to be so despite some notable progress in voting rights. As political scientists Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens wrote, “The essence of democracy is not just having reasonably satisfactory policies; the essence of democracy is popular control of government, with each citizen having an equal voice.” (1) Since this is likely to be your only college-level course on the American political system, it is important to point out the structural weaknesses of our system and the thin nature of our democracy. Whenever you get the chance—in the voting booth, in your job, perhaps if you hold elected office—I encourage you to do something about America’s attenuated democracy.

This book is a broad introduction to Australian politics and public policy. This field of study is important for Australians to understand the exercise of political power, their history and the scope for change. It is also important for analysts outside Australia looking for comparative cases. Within this volume are diverse topics and perspectives, demonstrating that the study of Australian politics and policy is not ‘fixed’. Rather, it is a contested field of academic scholarship. Indeed, the volume’s editors do not all agree on the content of this introduction!

This course introduces the framework of the law as it affects a business, including the origins of the American legal system, how the law operates, and how it is enforced. It covers legal regulation of business, including civil and criminal law, formation of contracts, employment law, environmental regulation, real estate, and consumer rights.

Course Outcomes:
1. Explain the origins of the American legal system.
2. Apply elements of law to specific individual and business scenarios.
3. Understand the requirements for a valid contract and apply those requirements to specific contractual activities.
4. Recognize the interconnectedness of the legal system to business, society, and the environment.
5. Explain the impact of the uniform commercial code, UCC, on the business environment.

Keith Tierney updated and enhanced this work in 2018 based on an adaptation of Business Law and the Legal Environment by the Saylor Academy.

Interest groups seek to influence governmental policy. In Texas, they play a major role in state politics and government. This video explores the tactics used by Texas interest groups to influence the legislative and judicial systems in the battle over tort reform – changes in the civil justice system that limits monetary compensation for injured parties in a lawsuit.

During recent years the phenomenon of Boko Haram has dominated policy debates among academics and policymakers interested in African and Nigerian politics. Yet, many issues about the sect remain unclear and contested. This collection of articles on Boko Haram by selected experts is essential reading for those interested in Nigeria, and the broader issues of state building, terrorism, humanitarian emergencies, conflict resolution and intrastate violence.

There are several hundred thousand Brownfield sites across the country. The large number of sites, combined with how a majority of these properties are located in urban and historically underserved communities, dictate that redevelopment of these sites stands to be a common theme in urban planning for the foreseeable future. Students form a grounded understanding of the Brownfield lifecycle: how and why they were created, their potential role in community revitalization, and the general processes governing their redevelopment. Using case studies and guest speakers from the public, private and non-profit sectors, students develop and hone skills to effectively address the problems posed by these inactive sites.

In this course students will learn how to: Demonstrate an understanding of law, its historical development, judicial process, and the role of law in a complex social system, with emphasis on the American legal system and its institutions; Demonstrate the ability to analyze fact patterns in accordance with the legal professional case analysis method; to apply appropriate vocabulary and substantive legal principles; and then to analyze, compare, and evaluate the logic, reasoning, and arguments of other students, in accordance with established legal principles; Demonstrate the ability to complete a group project with other students, by identifying the applicable legal issues in a case or proposed statute, debating those issues, and producing a live course presentation; Identify and describe the basic principles of major business law subjects, such as constitutional authority to regulate business; common law contracts; the Uniform Commercial Code; agency; business associations; real and personal property and business-related torts; And identify and describe approaches to business ethics, social responsibility, and justice, and, demonstrate the ability, when confronted with an ethical dilemma, to weigh the arguments for alternative courses of action, and logically and persuasively argue for a particular course of conduct.

Business Law I Essentials is a brief introductory textbook designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of courses on Business Law or the Legal Environment of Business. The concepts are presented in a streamlined manner, and cover the key concepts necessary to establish a strong foundation in the subject. The textbook follows a traditional approach to the study of business law. Each chapter contains learning objectives, explanatory narrative and concepts, references for further reading, and end-of-chapter questions.

Business Law I Essentials may need to be supplemented with additional content, cases, or related materials, and is offered as a foundational resource that focuses on the baseline concepts, issues, and approaches.

This textbook is used for all sections of Business Law 1 (BA 207) and Business Law 2 (BA 208) at Grand Rapids Community College. It provides context and essential concepts across the entire range of legal issues with which managers and business executives must grapple. The text provides the vocabulary and legal acumen necessary for businesspeople to talk in an educated way to their customers, employees, suppliers, government officials—and to their own lawyers.

Supplementary Readings for Business Law and the Legal Environment (Ed. Keith Tierney, rev. 2019).