Core academic interests in Public Policy

Ideas, State and Society

This core area of interest comprises the following issues of the recent past, the present and the likely shape of the future:

• State failure and failed states – the Mediterranean region offers a rich field of experience and experimentation, as well as stagnation and failure
• Under-governed areas of public life – outer space; the seas; climate; cyberspace
• Balancing public interest and private life – the regulation of privacy and markets
• Improving service delivery and the integrity of public services – public management, privatisation, accountability, anti-corruption, welfare reform
• Small states and islands – distinctive characteristics, consequences for politics, government and public administration, capacity-building, patterns of governance.

Issues of good governance

• The public square – now including civil society as well as ‘virtual’ squares such as the internet
• Political thought – an area which is still evolving, and which could contribute immeasurably to future generations of Maltese leaders
• Law – an area of renewed interest to economists, political scientists and governance specialists; the rule of law in securing good governance is our primary interest
• Citizenship – an evolving idea, under the influence of migration, multi-culturalism, New Public Management and European integration.

Spheres of public policy 

Our alumni can now be found in all of the following spheres of governance, which operate under a wide variety of regimes and interact intensively:

• The nation-state
• Sub-national government
• Multilateral institutions
• Supra-national government – the European Union is an astonishing innovation in the history of government and a powerful player in contemporary policy-making
• Civil society – Malta offers one of the most interesting and diverse forms of civil society, deeply rooted in Catholicism and in representative democracy
• Corporate governance
  
• Cybergovernance

Institutions and processes

This field covers matters traditionally identified with ‘public policy’, including:

• History of government and governing institutions
• Constitutional studies and institutional design
• Decision-making, policy analysis and design
• Regulation
• Policy Reform and organisational change

Leadership and management  

This field is exceptionally rich, offering numerous opportunities for the development of study programmes, professional development and research. It covers such issues as:

• Leadership in public affairs, including the idea of leadership, biographical research, patterns of leadership in Maltese public life (political, social and commercial)
• Leadership development – including career paths, qualities of leadership, professional conduct
• Negotiation and conflict resolution
• Knowledge management
• Public management at central, local and supra-national levels
• NGO management
• Project planning and management
• Human resource development for competitive, transitional societies as well as for organisations