Policy Processes – Actors, Causes and Consequences
STVN22 – Policy Processes – Actors, Causes and Consequences (15 credits). Master course in Political science. Autumn term.
This course explores how public policy is made. An important point in the course is to show how the policy process varies across different policy areas. The theoretical aspects of the course focus on the interaction between three different levels of analysis: norms, institutions and actors. The course studies how actors make decisions, attempt to govern the system, and influence outcomes. It also studies the way in which norms and institutions both limit and enable the behaviour of the actors.
Two analytical problems are paid special attention:
- How does governance take place in public sector policy-making? The course covers various decision-making models and instruments of control.
- How can democracy and power be implemented?
Both these problems demand an understanding of political science methodology. The course therefore examines different approaches from the theory of science, and methods applicable to research on policy-making processes. The empirical and more practical part of the course is based on a number of case studies drawn from very different types of policy areas.