The State and Public Policy PDF Print

Y4 - The State and Public Policy

Tutor: Takis Kafetzis

Semester: 4th

ECTS: 4.5

Short Description:

The course is organised in two distinct thematic units.
The first deals with the changes in the structure and the role of the state in the post-war era, mainly in the representative-democratic systems of the so-called West. The welfare state concept, the organization of interests, the new forms of articulation between state and society, the consequences of the integration of the national state in broader interstate unities (i.e. EU), constitute the central components in this unit.
The second unit of the course focuses on public policy as a distinct field of political science. The concept of public action, above and beyond the state’s action, the theories of decision making in public policy (rational choice theory, incrementalism, bureaucratic theory, convictional systems theory), the formational stages of public policy, and the evaluation criteria for the system’s performance are the specific objects of this second unit of the course.

Aims:

  • To acquire knowledge on the structural and functional changes of the post-war ‘western’ state as a broader cognitive framework in the approach of public policy.
  • To acquire knowledge on the procedures and the agents of public action and public policy.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Development of competence in the understanding and critical analysis of conceptual and theoretical approaches of the state and public policy.
  • Development of competence in discerning the inner scientific relationship between public policy and its pillars, the social and educational policies.

Structure:

13 three-hour lectures.

Assessment:

A written examination at the end of the semester accounts for 75% of the total score. An essay (up to 4000 words) submitted at the end of the semester, on a topic agreed with the tutor, accounts for 25% of the total score.

Bibliography:
G. E. Andersen (2006), The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Ellinika Grammata, Athens.
I. Gough (2008), The Political Economy of the Welfare State, Savvalas, Athens.
K. Kassimati (2003), Social Planning and Evaluation, Gutenberg, Athens.
T.H. Marshall-T. Bottοmore (2001), Citizenship and Social Class, Gutenberg, Athens.
P. Muller-Y. Syrel (2002), Analysis of state policies, Typothito, Athens.
A. Heidenheimer et al. (1990), Comparative Public Policy, St. Martins Press, Νew Υork.