The Validity of Pluralism in the American Political Arena

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: USA, grade: 95, Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH, language: English, abstract: This essay will explore the extent to which pluralism accurately describes and predicts the policy-making process in the United States, taking into consideration a particular theoretical framework. It will do so by considering two different policy issues: gay marriage, on the one hand, and college debt, on the other. Gay marriage will be considered in the context of the recent declarations of President Obama in favor of it. A historical landmark, the support of gay marriage by an American president has done much to move public debate towards its acceptance (Nagourney). College debt, on the other hand, has become an increasingly important political matter in the last years, as its aggregate amount has surpassed the historically-important household credit debt (Steinhauer and Lowrey). Within college debt, the debate on the raise of subsidized interest rates will be closely analyzed. Both cases will consider to what extent each relevant actor has had a say in the policy-making process, and the relative weight of their input in shaping final policy outcomes.