| CODE | EST5601 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | EU Public Policy Analysis | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | European Studies | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Contemporary political systems are expected to provide responses to a variety of political problems, which they do by making public policies. Public policies are the end-product of complex interactions among problems, political actors, and political institutions. Political scientists use the notion of 'policy cycle' to break down the policy process into a limited number of stages – agenda-setting, policy formulation, decision, implementation and evaluation – and to make sense of the institutions and actors most relevant at single stages. This study-unit builds on the most innovative theoretical and methodological instruments developed in comparative public policy analysis and applies them to the study of EU policy processes. The study-unit is organised in three main components. The first part introduces the main theoretical and methodological instruments for analysing public policy, and illustrates the notion of policy cycle. The second part focuses on how these instruments can be applied to the study of EU policy processes. The third part analyses more in-depth a single but crucial stage in the policy process, agenda-setting – that is, the way political systems define their policy priorities – and explores models of agenda-setting in the European Union. Students will be required to examine one public policy of their choice in one or two assignments during the course; the assignments will then be expanded into a final term paper that will contribute to the final assessment of their preparation. By the end of the study unit, students will have gained the instruments to analyse EU policy processes and understand the complex interaction behind the determination of EU policy priorities. The objective of the study-unit is to provide MA students with the theoretical and methodological instruments to analyse comparative and EU public policy and agenda-setting processes in a variety of policy domains. By the end of the study-unit, students will have gained the instruments to analyse policy processes and understand the complex interaction behind the formation of EU policy priorities. Study-unit Aims: - Recognise and critically evaluate the main approaches to the study of public policy processes. - Identify relevant instruments for the analysis public policy processes. - Analyse the main stages of the policy cycle. - Identify the key actors and institutions relevant at single stages of the policy process. - Analyse the process whereby political systems and the EU in particular define their policy priorities. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Understand the main approaches to and instruments for analysing public policy processes. - Describe the main stages of the policy cycle. - Identify the key actors and institutions relevant at single stages of the policy process/ - Describe the process whereby political systems and the EU in particular define their policy priorities. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Thoroughly analyse EU public policies. - Explain the main features of single stages of the EU policy process. - Critically assess the policy priorities of the European Union, and the actors and processes responsible for their change. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Engeli, Isabelle, and Christine Rothmayr Allison. 2014. Comparative Policy Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan. - Howlett, M., M. Ramesh, e Anthony Perl. 2009. Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - John, Peter. 2012. Analyzing Public Policy. 2nd ed. Routledge. - Princen, Sebastiaan. 2009. Agenda-setting in the European Union. London: Palgrave Macmillan. - Versluis, Dr Esther, Dr Mendeltje van Keulen, e Paul Stephenson. 2010. Analyzing the European Union Policy Process. Palgrave Macmillan. Supplementary Readings: - Baumgartner, Frank R., and Bryan D. Jones. 2009. Agendas and Instability in American Politics. University of Chicago Press. - Green-Pedersen, Christoffer, and Stefaan Walgrave. 2014. Agenda Setting, Policies, and Political Systems: A Comparative Approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. - Wallace, Helen, Mark Pollack, e Alasdair Young, (eds) 2014. Policy-Making in the European Union. 7th ed. OUP Oxford. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Seminar | ||||||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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