Comparing Politics, Law, Policy, And Power

Comparing Politics, Law, Policy, And Power ( Essay APA Format)

Building on your research and analysis of the immigration policy or same-sex marriage debates, this assessment asks you to more closely examine the connection between power and policy, and law making by comparing and contrasting how two states have handled these issues.

· Part 1 – 

o Discuss the following for each of the two states you have chosen as it relates to your chosen topic: 

o Law (rules and standards enforced by a particular institution).

o Discuss theories of power that might explain the differences between how each state has handled your issue. 

o Examples of theories of power include power elite theory, the four networks theory of power, pluralism, Marxist theory, and state autonomy theory.

o Discuss other possible explanations for the differences in how each state's government has approached your topic. Address at least three of the following potential factors, and come up with another of your own that might explain the divergent approaches you have identified: 

o Demographics of the state population, including age, race/ethnicity, gender, and percentage of the population in urban versus rural areas.

o Geography.

o Religion.

o History.

o Socioeconomic standing, including median or average income and education levels of the population, as well as the overall economic well-being of each state.

· Part 2 – Answer the following, incorporating data to support your answers: 

o To what extent have these states' existing policies and laws affected past migration patterns of the groups affected (immigrants or those seeking same-sex marriage rights)?

o How might future migration patterns be affected?

· Part 3 – Complete the following: 

o Reflect on a historical precedent in which a state has had to alter its laws as a result of inconsistencies with federal law. 

o Why and how did the state change its laws?

o What lessons might be learned from this precedent, and how can those lessons be applied to your topic?