POLS 625: Extremist Groups and Government Response
Spring 2005
Department of Political
Science
University of Kansas
Professor Haider-Markel TR
E-mail: prex@ku.edu Rm. HAW 2031
Office Hours: MWF
And by appointment Phone:
864-9034
web: http://lark.cc.ku.edu/~prex Line
# 65140/1
Purpose and Goals of the
Course
This course examines left and right
wing extremist political groups in America from the 19th to 21st century and
how government has developed policies to respond to these groups. Special attention will be given to the
process of policy adoption and implementation and how government might respond
to extremist groups in the future.
Issues and themes will include groups such as the left-wing terrorism in
the 1960s and 1970s, right-wing anticommunist groups of the 1950s and 1960s,
hate crime, eco-terrorism, citizen militia groups, international extremists and
actions against the
Grading and Responsibilities
Class
Participation and Reading Assignments: Class Weeks will be a mix of lecture and seminar. A
student’s grade will reflect his or her participation in class. Participation not only includes showing up
for class but also having completed the reading assignments and
actively using this material to engage your fellow students (and myself) in discussion. If you miss class on a regular basis or for
an extended period for any reason,
you should contact me as soon as possible.
Waiting to explain absences at the end of the semester will not suffice.
The reading assignments are listed
below in the course outline. All
students are expected to complete the
required readings prior to each class Week. As part of
completing the required readings, from time-to-time I will provide you with a
list of study questions that will guide you through the readings. You should prepare answers to these questions
so that you can discuss the issues in class.
Also, I may occasionally review the answers you have prepared. I am also providing a list of supplemental
readings that students can use for their research (located on my web
site). Note that I will occasionally
supplement our discussion with newspaper articles that will be sent to you via
e-mail; students are encouraged to tie these articles into our discussion. I also strongly recommend that students
regularly read and view national news.
The following books are required
reading and are available for purchase in the bookstore:
Crothers, Lane.
2003. Rage on the Right: The American Militia Movement from Ruby
Ridge to Homeland
Security. Lanham, MD: Rowman and
Littlefield.
George, John, and Laird
Wilcox. 1996. American Extremists. Prometheus.
Risen, James and Judy L. Thomas.
1998. Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War.
Rodgers, Jim, and Tim Kullman.
2002. Facing Terror: The Government’s Response
To Contemporary Extremists in
America. ISBN: 0-7618-2215-1
In addition I have put
together a required reading packet for the course. The packet is available for
reading/photocopying in the Department of Political Science, 504 Blake
Hall. If your
financial situation makes it difficult for you to buy the books or photocopy
the reading packet, please let me know as soon as possible.
Recommended Reading
Ronson, Jon. 2002. Them:
Adventures with Extremists. New
York: Simon & Schuster.
Smith,
Brent L. 1994. Terrorism in America: Pipe Bombs and Pipe Dreams. Ithaca,
NY: State University of New York
Press.
Also see my web page, which has a list of additional
readings on extremist groups at:
http://lark.cc.ukans.edu/~prex/
(Special/Short) Assignments: During the semester I require students to
complete three short assignments. These
assignments can take the form of mini-quizzes or writing assignments. I will determine the type of assignment based
on overall class performance and participation.
However, one of the assignments
will be to write an abstract for your research paper. Please note that these assignments account
for 20% of your grade (6.67% each). If
you miss even one of these assignments it could cost you a whole grade.
Policy
Memos: You
will have two 3 to 4 page policy memos during the semester. For each essay you will examine the political
and policy contours how federal, state, or local government responded to a specific
group. Your essay will briefly detail
the government response, but also the merits of alternative actions, including
inaction. You will be provided with detailed instructions on the memorandum
later in the semester.
Research
Paper: Each student will be required to write a
research paper on some aspect of extremist political groups. The paper can use portions of the course
readings but you must make use of sources other than those assigned for the
course. I will provide you with more
detailed instructions concerning content, format, and length early in the
semester. You will be provided with a
list of possible research topics but you are free to choose a topic on your
own. Each student is required to
submit an abstract to clear a research topic with me. The research papers are due by: Monday,
May 17,
Final
Grades will be determined on the following basis:
Class Participation 10%
3 Short Assignments 20% (6.67% each)
Research Paper 30%
Missing assignments, exams, etc. will
normally be counted as zero.
However, based on the situation, I may allow late assignments/papers to
receive some credit. In such a case
points will be deducted on a daily basis.
Only serious emergencies, such as a student or family long-term illness,
constitute grounds for an incomplete. If
you face a significant emergency during the semester you should contact me as
soon as possible. You should also
contact me as soon as possible if you think you will be late on an assignment for any reason.
Students with Disabilities
Any student who has a disability
that may prevent him/her from fully demonstrating her/his abilities should
contact me personally as soon as possible so we can discuss accommodations necessary
to ensure full participation and facilitate the educational opportunity. Informing me of a disability at the end of
the semester will not allow me to accommodate your needs.
Instructor Availability
Students wishing to meet with me can
do so before or after class, during office hours (listed at top of first page),
or by appointment. My time is flexible
and I can arrange to meet with you on your schedule. Remember I am available to you as a
resource--take advantage of it. Please be aware that the easiest way to reach
me is via e-mail (top of page 1)--I check my e-mail several times a day.
Course Outline
and Weekly Schedule
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Jan.
20, no readings
Week 2: Issues and Definitions; Public Policy and the
Policy Process
Jan.
25-27
Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp.
107-132
Reading Packet
Anderson, 2000; pp. 1-26, 30-35,
39-80, 85-104, 109-117
Birkland, Thomas A. ““The World Changed Today”: Agenda-Setting
and Policy
Change in the Wake of the September
11 Terrorist Attacks.” Review of
Policy Research 21(2):179-200.
Crenshaw, Martha.
2001. “Counterterrorism Policy
and the Political Process.”
Studies
in Conflict & Terrorism 24:329-337.
Week 3: Issues and
Definitions II; Extremism and Terrorism
Feb.
1-3
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 7-94, 421-423.
Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp.
19-52,
Reading Packet
Ronson, Them, 9-18
Smith (1994), pp. 1-52
Ruby, Charles L.
2002. “The
Definition of Terrorism.” Analyses of Social Issues and
Public Policy. 9-14.
Week 4: Issues and
Definitions III, Extremism and Terrorism
Feb.
8-10
John
Brown and the Abolitionists
Anti-Masons
Molly
Maquires
Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp. 1-17;
53-85
Reading Packet
Crenshaw, Martha. 2002.
“The Logic of Terrorism,” pp. 54-66.
Turk, Austin T. 2004.
“Sociology of Terrorism.” Annual Review of Sociology 30:271-286.
Borum,
Randy. 2005. “Understanding the Terrorist Mind-Set.” Pp. 18-20
Post, Jerrold M., Ehud Sprinzak, and Laurita M. Denny.
2005. “The Terrorists in Their
Own Words.” Pp. 21-27.
Week 5: Left Wing Extremists I:
Feb.
15-17
Anarchists
IWW
Communist
Party
Socialist Workers Party
Progressive Labor Party
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 97-113, 147-152
Week 6: Left Wing Extremists II:
Feb.
22-24
Abstract Due: Thursday,
Feb. 24, start of class
Black
Panther Party
African People’s Party
Nation of Islam
Revolutionary
Action Movement
Weather Underground
SDS: Students for a Democratic Society
Radical Environmentalists and Animal Rights (ELF
&ALF)
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 114-124, 156-158
Reading Packet
Smith (1994), pp. 93-129
Animal Rights Readings: All pages
Week 7: The Anti-Communists
March
1-3
Reverend
Billy James Hargis
The John Birch Society
The Minutemen
Sheriff’s Posse Comitatus
Review Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp. 19-52, 53-85
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 173-196
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 221-245
Week 8: Racists:
March
8-10
The
three waves of the Ku Klux Klan
American Nazi Party
The Black Legion
The Silver Shirts
Policy Memo 1 is Due Mar. 10
Review Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp. 19-52, 53-85
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 362-382.
Reading Packet
Ronson, Them, 177-201
Week 9: Neo-Nazi’s,
Skinheads, and Hate Crime
March
15-17.
Review Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp. 19-52, 53-85
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 323-353
Reading Packet
Ronson, Them, 217-241
Haider-Markel, Donald P. 1998.
“The Politics of Social Regulatory Policy: State and Federal Hate Crime
Policy and Implementation Effort.” Political Research Quarterly
51(1):69-88.
Week 10: March 22-24, Spring
Break, No Class
Week 11: The Politics of
Abortion: from the Right and Left I
March
29 to 31
Risen and Thomas (1998), pp. 3-216
Week 12: The Politics of
Abortion II
April
5-7
Risen and Thomas (1998), pp. 217-378
Week 13: Patriot and Militia
Groups I
April
12-14
Review Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp. 19-52, 53-85
George and Wilcox (1996), pp. 246-274
Crothers, 2003, pp. 1-122
Reading Packet
O’Brien, Sean P., and Donald P. Haider-Markel. 1998.
“Fueling the Fire: Social and
Political
Correlates of Citizen Militia Activity.”
Social Science Quarterly
79(2)456-65.
Week 14: Patriot and Militia
Groups II
April
19-21
Continue Crothers, 2003, pp. 1-122
Reading Packet
Freilich, Joshua D., J. A. Pienik, and G. J. Howard. 2001.
“Toward Comparative
Studies of the
Comparative Sociology 62(1-2): 163-210.
Week 15: Patriot and Militia
Groups III
April
26-28
Policy
Memo 2 is Due April 26, start of Class
Crothers, 2003, pp. 123-182.
Reading Packet
Haider-Markel, Donald P., and Sean P. O’Brien. 1997. “Creating a “Well Regulated
Militia”: Policy Responses to
Paramilitary Groups in the American States.”
Political
Research Quarterly 50(3):551-565.
Chamberlain,
Robert, and Donald P. Haider-Markel.
2005. “Lien On Me”: State Policy
Innovation in Response to Paper
Terrorism.” Political Research Quarterly,
Forthcoming.
Week 16: International Extremists, Religious
Terrorism, and the threat to the
May
3-5
Review Rodgers and Kullman, 2002, pp. 107-132
Reading Packet
--Understanding the Challenge
--Terrorism in the Name of Religion
--The Rise of Complex Terrorism
--Countering Complexity
--Al Qaeda training manual
--Background (Al Qaeda and Osama bin
Laden)
--Biography of Osama bin Laden (from
Frontline)
--Understanding Al Qaeda’s Application of…, Howard 2003
--Al-Qaeda: The Misunderstood…, Azzam,
Week 17: International
Extremists and Government Response & Final Thoughts
May
10 &12
Reading Packet
--The Hunt for Osama bin Laden
--Government Response articles
--Patriotism, Partisanship…Sinclair,
2005
--Presidential and Congressional
Struggles…, Conley, 2005
--Countering Al-Qaeda, Jenkins, 2002
--The Changing Face of Al Qaeda…,
Hoffman, 2004
--Relevant Terrorism Legislation
--Due Process for Terrorists? Powers
--Challenges to Civil Liberties in
a….Fisher, 2005
Likely Quiz on May 12th
Research
Papers Due: Monday, May 16, at