860-0001-00L Public Institutions and Policy-Making Processes
| Semester | Autumn Semester 2016 |
| Lecturers | T. Bernauer, S. Bechtold, F. Schimmelfennig |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Comment | Number of participants limited to 25. Priority for Science, Technology, and Policy MSc students. |
Courses
| Number | Title | Hours | Lecturers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 860-0001-00 G | Public Institutions and Policy-Making Processes | 3 hrs |
| T. Bernauer, S. Bechtold, F. Schimmelfennig |
Catalogue data
| Abstract | Students acquire the contextual knowledge for analyzing public policies. They learn why and how public policies and laws are developed, designed, and implemented at national and international levels, and what challenges arise in this regard. |
| Learning objective | Public policies result from decision-making processes that take place within formal institutions of the state (parliament, government, public administration, courts). That is, policies are shaped by the characteristics of decision-making processes and the characteristics of public institutions and related actors (e.g. interest groups). In this course, students acquire the contextual knowledge for analyzing public policies. They learn why and how public policies and laws are developed, designed, and implemented at national and international levels, and what challenges arise in this regard. The course is organized in three modules. The first module (Stefan Bechtold) examines basic concepts and the role of law, law-making, and law enforcement in modern societies. The second module (Thomas Bernauer) deals with the functioning of legislatures, governments, and interest groups. The third module (Frank Schimmelfennig) focuses on the European Union and international organisations. |
| Content | Schedule (for up-to-date information, see the syllabus that will be distributed to participants electronically): W1: Bechtold, Bernauer: Introduction How are laws created and interpreted? How are they enforced? W2: Bechtold: Why do we need laws and why do people and firms usually obey the law? What are possible goals of legal systems? What is the relationship between laws, social norms, and moral values? W3: Bechtold: What role does scientific evidence play in the creation and enforcement of the law? How does the law deal with non-quantifiable factors or incommensurable values? W4: no class W5: Bernauer: How are parliaments (legislatures) elected, how do they work, and how do their characteristics and processes affect policy-making? W6: Bernauer: Why do forms of government differ and how does this affect policy-making? Why and in what respect are public administrations efficient/effective, and why sometimes not? W7: Bernauer: How do interest groups and social movements affect policy-making. W8: Study week W9: Schimmelfennig: Governance beyond the state: why and how states create international institutions. W10: Schimmelfennig: International organizations and regimes: case studies of global governance. W11: Schimmelfennig: Institutions and policy-making in the European Union. W12: Schimmelfennig: International organizations and policy diffusion. W13: End-of-semester exam An add-on module to this course (3 ECTS) involves an essay. This part of the course is accessible only to ISTP MSc students and requires enrollement in the main course (3 ECTS). ISTP MSc students must enrol in both parts. Other students can only enrol in the main course. 3rd week of January: deadline for review essay |
| Lecture notes | Reading materials will be distributed electronically to the students when the semester starts. |
| Literature | Baylis, John, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens (2014): The Globalization of World Politics. An Introduction to International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Caramani, Daniele (ed.) (2014): Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. European Court of Justice (2013): ITV Broadcasting Ltd. and Others v. TV Catch Up Ltd., Case C-607/11, March 7, 2013, EU:C:2013:147. Federal Communications Commission (2015): Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet, 80 Federal Register 19738-19847. Gilardi, Fabrizio (2012): Transnational Diffusion: Norms, Ideas, and Policies, in Carlsnaes, Walter, Thomas Risse and Beth Simmons, Handbook of International Relations, 2nd Edition, London: Sage, pp. 453-477. Hage, Jaap and Bram Akkermans (eds.) (2014): Introduction to Law, Heidelberg: Springer, available as an ebook at ETH library. Jolls, Christine (2013): Product Warnings, Debiasing, and Free Speech: The Case of Tobacco Regulation, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 169: 53-78. Lelieveldt, Herman and Sebastiaan Princen (2011): The Politics of European Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lessig, Lawrence (2006): Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Version 2.0, New York: Basic Books. Available at http://codev2.cc/download+remix/Lessig-Codev2.pdf. Schimmelfennig, Frank and Ulrich Sedelmeier (2004): Governance by Conditionality: EU Rule Transfer to the Candidate Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in: Journal of European Public Policy 11(4): 669-687. Shipan, Charles V. and Craig Volden (2012): Policy Diffusion: Seven Lessons for Scholars and Practitioners. Public Administration Review 72(6): 788-796. Sunstein, Cass R. (2014): The Limits of Quantification, California Law Review 102: 1369-1422. Thaler, Richard H. and Cass R. Sunstein (2003): Libertarian Paternalism. American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings 93: 175-179. U.S. Supreme Court (2014): American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 2498. |
| Prerequisites / Notice | This is a Master level course. The course is capped at 25 students, with ISTP Master students having priority. |
Performance assessment
| Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again) | |
Performance assessment as a semester course | |
| ECTS credits | 3 credits |
| Examiners | T. Bernauer, S. Bechtold, F. Schimmelfennig |
| Type | graded semester performance |
| Language of examination | English |
| Repetition | Repetition possible without re-enrolling for the course unit. |
| Additional information on mode of examination | End-of-semester test. |
Learning materials
| No public learning materials available. | |
| Only public learning materials are listed. |
Groups
| No information on groups available. |
Restrictions
| Places | 25 at the most |
| Priority | Registration for the course unit is until 12.09.2016 only possible for the primary target group |
| Primary target group | Science, Technology and Policy MSc (860000) |
| Waiting list | until 20.09.2016 |
Offered in
| Programme | Section | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comparative and International Studies Master | Electives | W |  |
| GESS Science in Perspective | Political Science | W | |
| Science, Technology, and Policy Master | Core Courses | O | |