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Find individual courses here or browse the curricula of our graduate and executive programmes.
For the PhD programmes, please find more information here.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs Master of Data Science for Public Policy

Applied logistic regression

Year 2 | Elective course (E1201 , 6 credits )
Module: 6. Portfolio Elective | 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective | 7. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Michaela Kreyenfeld

Abstract

This course provides “hands-on-experience” to logistic regression analysis. This course does not teach “dry” statistical techniques. Instead, all lectures start with a social policy relevant research question. Together with the instructor, the students will develop an understanding of how to choose the right data set, how to process the data for empirical investigations and how to conduct simple, but straightforward empirical investigations. We focus on methods for discrete data. The reason is that most processes in the political sciences are discrete. To give some typical examples: What determines xenophobic attitudes? Who agrees to more government spending for the elderly? What influences poverty and social exclusion? In order to answer such questions in a regression framework, one commonly draws on logistic regression techniques.

This course is for 2nd year MIA, MPP and MDS students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Artificial intelligence and climate change

Year 2 | Elective course (E1370 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Lynn Kaack, PhD

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change are both topics on top of the policy agenda that require a deep technological understanding of the problem space. It does not come as a surprise that these two topics also affect one another in multifaceted ways. This course will explore the relationship of AI and climate change through a policy lens, and ask the question of what policy-makers can do to align AI with climate change goals. Readings will provide students with insights into cutting edge research using AI and machine learning (ML) to address climate change. The course will also cover how AI is deployed in ways that are detrimental to these goals, provide a perspective on systemic effects of AI-driven technologies and their impacts on social well-being, and discuss energy and resource consumption related to AI’s computational requirements. Together, we will explore technology assessment and design possible policy instruments. Students will learn how to navigate this intersection of two hot button topics and provide informed and practical advice to policy makers.

This course is for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs Master of Data Science for Public Policy

Authoritarian politics in international relations

Year 2 | Elective course (E1374 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Security & Sustainability Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective | 7. Portfolio Elective | 5. International Security Concentration Elective
Instructors: Dr. Christian Gläßel

Abstract

This course offers an introduction into the fundamental logic of authoritarian politics. The main goal of the course is to develop a deeper understanding of how autocracies work internally and how they interact with the international arena. Taking a rational perspective, we analyse the key actors, strategies and effects of authoritarian rule from the 20th century until the present day. Based on cutting-edge research, the course engages with questions such as: How do authoritarian regimes arise? Why do some dictatorships survive for decades and others do not? How do dictators deal with the dual threat of revolution and coup? When do regimes use repression and why would they refrain from it? How do dictators censor and what is the effect? How do dictators manipulate public opinion abroad? And how can the liberal state community counteract democratic backsliding tendencies, restrictions on civil liberties and human rights violations?

This course is for 2nd year MIA, MPP and MDS students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Citizen empowerment in public services and policies

Year 2 | Elective course (E1137 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Management & Organisation Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Salvador Parrado

Abstract

The course offers students an analytical and practical toolkit to apply customer-focused and citizen-empowerment policies to improve outputs and outcomes that matter to users and broader communities. This emphasis can be applied to almost any organisation in the governmental or non-governmental sector. The skills acquired in the course can be used in health, social services, education, citizen safety or the delivery of transactional services (for instance, opening a business).


By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  • Understand the role of citizen empowerment in modern governance;
  • Segment users and identify relevant stakeholders;
  • Assess the quality of public services;
  • Propose results-oriented objectives that address service satisfaction and citizen involvement in policymaking;
  • Link citizen empowerment instruments to outcome-oriented results;
  • Consult and identify the satisfaction of users with service delivery;
  • Draft a citizen empowerment or service co-production plan.

This course is for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Conflict, peacekeeping and development

Year 2 | Elective course (GRAD-E1380 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Bernd Beber

Abstract

This course will address key debates concerning the onset, resolution and dynamics of civil war, the role peacekeeping missions can and should play in these settings, and how aspects of economic development and well-being intersect with these issues. We will discuss economic and non-economic motives for conflict, the economic consequences of war, why fighting might spread and how conflict can be suppressed or resolved, with a particular focus on peacekeeping. We will talk about research design challenges, and delve into details of quantitative analyses, including by way of replications that students will undertake. Students will complete the course with a final paper based on their own quantitative data analysis.

This course is for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Contentious politics in a digital world

Year 2 | Elective course (E1306 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective | 5. Security & Sustainability Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Anita Gohdes

Abstract

From Iran to Ukraine to the Arab Spring, digital technology seems to have provided protesters on the streets with new means to voice their grievances and mobilise against repressive rulers. At the same time, governments from China to Turkey are steadily increasing censorship of the Internet. This course will focus specifically on the ways in which information and communication technology, including mobile phones, social media and geographical location tools has changed the opportunities, choices and incentives of activists, protest movements, armed organisations and governments. By the end of the course, students will have developed an understanding of the current state-of-the-art research on and developments in the relationship between digitalisation and contentious politics. This includes an understanding of the ways in which social media and the Internet in general have affected mobilisation processes, conflict dynamics, activism and authoritarian survival.

The course will be divided in the three parts. The first section will deal with non-state actors’ use of digital tools in contentious politics. The second section will investigate state control of the Internet. The final section will examine the power and politics of digital platforms (such as YouTube and Facebook). A key objective is to equip students with the tools that will help them to critically evaluate the fast-moving debates in the area (in particular the sweeping claims frequently made in public debate), critically evaluate empirical research being produced in this area, as well as to reflect on and develop their own understanding of how technological developments are affecting contentious politics.

This course is for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs Master of Data Science for Public Policy

Data perspectives on global greenhouse gas emissions

Year 2 | Elective course (GRAD-E1402 , 6 credits )
Module: 7. Portfolio Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective | 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective | 5. Security & Sustainability Concentration Elective
Instructors: Michael Jakob

Abstract

Climate change is driven by the accumulation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Where do these emissions come from? Which economic sectors drive emissions, and why? Why are the emissions contributions of different countries and world regions so unequal? And how fast can emissions be reduced to meet net zero targets? This course aims to address these questions while building student’s practical skills in analysing data and assessing real-world trends at the core of the sustainability and climate change challenge.

This course is for 2nd year MIA, MPP and MDS students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs Master of Data Science for Public Policy

Conflict management in real-life settings

Year 2 | Elective course (E1346 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Security & Sustainability Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective | 5. International Security Concentration Elective | 7. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Wolfgang Sporrer

Abstract

The aim of this course is to familiarize students with how conflict management is conducted in the daily practice of diplomacy, international organizations and non-state actors. It will look at the conflict cycle in its entirety, from prevention to post-conflict reconstruction. As well, relevant key skills in this context will be taught, such as the drafting and introducing of background papers, talking points, briefing notes and other forms of statements. Online guest speakers from diplomacy, international organizations and from non-state actors will share examples of their daily work and impart their experience of international conflict management in their own practice.

This course is for 2nd year MIA, MPP and MDS students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs Master of Data Science for Public Policy

Development economics

Year 2 | Elective course (GRAD-E1393 , 6 credits )
Module: 7. Portfolio Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective | 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective
Instructors: Prof. Arianna Ornaghi, PhD

Abstract

What challenges do governments in developing countries face when designing taxation systems and social protection programs? How can bureaucracies in developing countries be designed to be effective? Why are high-return technologies not always adopted? These are the three key questions that we are going to contend with in this course. We are going to address each question by discussing state-of-the-art research in development economics, with a specific methodological focus on randomized control trails.

 

The first half of the course is going to be devoted to thinking about public finance in a developing context. We are going to start by thinking about what a large informal sector and weak state capacity mean for tax systems and the design of social protection programs from targeting to governance. We will also consider the general equilibrium effects of different social protection schemes and what determines demand for them. In the second half of the course, we are going to tackle the bureacracies that make some of these programs a reality. In particular, we are going to ask how can bureacurats be effectively selected and incentivized, and how bureacracies can be designed to improve their performance. We are going to conclude by discussing the challenges of technology adoption.

 

Throughout the course, we will discuss how randomized control trials can be designed to evaluate policies and understand economic mechanisms

This course is for 2nd year MIA, MPP and MDS students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Digital state capacities

Year 2 | Elective course (E1270 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Management & Organisation Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Luciana Cingolani

Abstract

Digital Governance is changing the rules of the game regarding the capacities that governments are expected to build and deploy. In many aspects, these capacities can no longer be labelled as innovations but rather as necessary adaptations geared towards fulfilling core state functions against the backdrop of fast-changing communities of expertise and new emerging social phenomena.

This course will delve into a number of topics related to the concept of state capacity and explore how state capacities evolve in the Digital Age. In this framework, it will explore the challenges, the empirical evidence and the unknowns of four core state areas: a) law enforcement, digital identities, and the reach of the state; b) information-assisted regulation and algorithm governance; c) crowdsourcing, coproduction and open collaborative technologies, and d) the use of blockchain technology by governments. Critical questions addressed will be, for example, what are the conditions that allow better adaptability responses in terms of digital capacity building in the above areas? What are the known intended and unintended consequences of newly adopted digital instruments? Why do countries fall into ‘capability traps'? What are the strongest opportunities and the biggest threats that lay ahead in the field of digital governance?

Discussions and debate points will be drawn both from academic as well as practitioner strands and will involve an active role of the students in investigating state-of the art problems and sources of information, which will feed into an overall framework to address the course's core questions.

The major aim of this course is to provide students with theoretical and applied tools to dig deeper into new capacity challenges facing governments today. By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  • Have a thorough understanding of the obstacles and enablers involved in digital state capacity and state capacity more generally;
  • Reflect on contested and unresolved issues around the role of the state in digital transformation;
  • Develop approaches to address such problems, in particular, using systematic analyses on how to overcome capability traps.
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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Economics of crime and security: Policies and evaluation methods

Year 2 | Elective course (E1169 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Christian Traxler

Abstract

This course introduces students to the economic, quantitative analysis of crime and crime control policies. Crime imposes substantial costs to individuals and society, and “fighting crime” ranks high in the policy agenda of most countries. At the same time, strategies for crime prevention are among the most controversially and fiercely debated areas of public policy – including issues related to police violence and racially-biased policing. Starting with Garry Becker’s Nobel Prize-winning work on the rational choice model of crime, economists have contributed to this debate by providing an analytical framework and, most importantly, advanced empirical methods to evaluate different crime prevention policies. The course covers a broad set of topics from this strand of research. It discusses, among other things, the deterrent effect of policing, strategies for “better” policing, the role of peer effects and socialisation on crime (“neighbourhood effects”), as well as topics related to migration. All questions will be approached using state-of-the-art empirical methods that are widely utilised in the quantitative analysis of policy impact.

This course is for 2nd year MIA and MPP students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Electricity economics

Year 2 | Elective course (E1329 , 6 credits )
Module: 5. Policy Analysis Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective | 3. Economics II | 2. Economics II/Statistics II
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Lion Hirth

Abstract

The electricity industry is undergoing the deepest transformation of its history, driven by decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation: New technologies from solar photovoltaics to batteries and the Internet of things reshape how electricity is produced, transported, traded and consumed. Wind and solar energy are at the center of change. Understanding this revolution requires understanding the deep links between electricity systems and technologies, economics and markets, as well as regulation and policy. Good energy policy requires a sound understanding of the fundamental physics and economics as well as the institutional and legal framework that shape power systems and markets. The goal of this course is to equip students with this knowledge. The focus of this class is on economics and markets; to a lesser degree it covers technology.

The centerpiece of this class is the economics of wind and solar energy. After a crash course in power plant technology and electricity systems engineering, we will discuss the drivers of cost of electricity, with a particular focus on renewable energy and the cost revolution that has made wind and solar energy cost-competitive with fossil fuels. We will then develop tools to assess the economic value of electricity, based on a rigorous assessment of electricity markets. Students will learn methods to derive an optimal long-term electricity generation mix and to evaluate the economics of wind and solar energy. A particular focus will be the “market value” of wind and solar energy (average revenue). We will see why the value of renewable electricity drops as its share in total electricity supply increases and discuss the (unsettling) implications of this outcome for the long-term economics of renewables and learn what can be done to mitigate the value drop. Apart from the economics of electricity generation, the course will discuss the fundamental principles of electricity grids and options to integrate renewable energy into existing power systems (electricity storage, network expansion, flexible power plants), with a particular focus on batteries and the rise of “prosumers”. We will also discuss the regulation of network operators and the design of retail tariffs, examining the incentives implied in tariff design choices. These are the relevant issues not only in Germany’s Energiewende, but also in upcoming EU legislation and a number of emerging economies.

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