Ethics

How should political actors behave? What is good representation? When is it appropriate to make a compromise? Is releasing confidential information ever justified? How do you change deeply entrenched social norms? Should you? These are just some of the questions raised by the teaching cases in this section, which ask students to consider the implications and ramifications of real-world ethical scenarios, with sources of conflict ranging from personal to structural dilemmas.

  • Teaching Case - Senator McGrail and the Death Penalty

    Senator McGrail and the Death Penalty

    $3.95

    Publication Date: January 01, 1988

    This very short case, less than a page, is the story of a young Massachusetts state senator who is faced with a dilemma about how to vote on then-Governor Frank Sargent's veto of a bill...

  • Teaching Case - AIDS and the Insurance Industry

    AIDS and the Insurance Industry

    $3.95

    Publication Date: January 01, 1987

    In December 1986, Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance Peter Hiam ordered life and health insurance companies operating in the state to stop testing insurance applicants' blood for...

  • Classic Case - Helms-Hunt Senate Race (D)

    Helms-Hunt Senate Race (D)

    Free

    Publication Date: January 01, 1986

    The 1984 race between incumbent North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms and Governor Jim Hunt was the country's most expensive and, arguably, meanest Senate race to date. In 1982, Jim Hunt was...

  • Classic Case - Helms-Hunt Senate Race (C): Phase II

    Helms-Hunt Senate Race (C): Phase II

    Free

    Publication Date: January 01, 1986

    The 1984 race between incumbent North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms and Governor Jim Hunt was the country's most expensive and, arguably, meanest Senate race to date. In 1982, Jim Hunt was...

  • Classic Case - Helms-Hunt Senate Race (B): Phase I

    Helms-Hunt Senate Race (B): Phase I

    Free

    Publication Date: January 01, 1986

    The 1984 race between incumbent North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms and Governor Jim Hunt was the country's most expensive and, arguably, meanest Senate race to date. In 1982, Jim Hunt was...

  • Classic Case - Helms-Hunt Senate Race (A): Preview

    Helms-Hunt Senate Race (A): Preview

    Free

    Publication Date: January 01, 1986

    The 1984 race between incumbent North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms and Governor Jim Hunt was the country's most expensive and, arguably, meanest Senate race to date. In 1982, Jim Hunt was...

  • Teaching Case - Smith and the Public Health Battle

    Smith and the Public Health Battle

    $3.95

    Publication Date: January 01, 1986

    In this disguised case, Helen Smith is a newly appointed state administrator of personnel hired as part of a new governor's reform effort. Smith's task is to crack down on the practice of...

  • Teaching Case - George Shultz and the Polygraph Test

    George Shultz and the Polygraph Test

    $3.95

    Publication Date: January 01, 1986

    Shortly before Christmas 1985, Secretary of State George Shultz publicly threatened to resign over a pending administration directive that would have required thousands of government...