The course offers an introduction to the policy process, policy strategies and core concepts of policy analysis, drawing on applications to transformation processes. This course will first introduce the key actors, institutions and stages of the policy process and the policy cycle including agenda-setting, policy formulation, decision-making, policy implementation, and evaluation. Students will learn theories that allow to analyse and explain policy processes. In the second part of the course, students will analyse and discuss policy strategies in policy areas and transformation processes such as demographic changes, transformation of democracies, climate change, and digitalisation. We will explore different policy strategies that can be used to achieve and tackle transformative change in these policy areas. Student teams will develop, present and discuss case studies on policy strategies dealing with transformation processes. This course aims to provide students with fundamental tools from the social sciences, enabling them to understand and navigate real-world transformation processes.
Upon completing this course, students will be able to
- Identify major political actors and institutions in selected transformation processes and assess their behaviour and interests
- Develop and evaluate policy strategies addressing transformative changes in selected policy areas
- Take a position on how to explain policy strategies of transformative changes
- Engage in transdisciplinary approaches to integrate diverse stakeholder perspectives in designing transformative policies
- Teacher: Carlotta Terhorst