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For the PhD programmes, please find more information here.

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Master of International Affairs Master of Public Policy

The politics of memory

Year 2 | Elective course (E1246 , 6 credits)
Module: 6. Portfolio Elective | 5. Security & Sustainability Concentration Elective
Instructors: Dr. Volker Stanzel

Abstract

Wars, civil wars and violent conflicts in and between communities and states cause immense collective and individual physical and psychological suffering. They also leave lasting scars in the minds of both vicitims and aggressors. Societies that wish to build a peaceful future for their members need to deal with such scars. For that purpose, reconciliation between past enemies may be necessary - or not. As the present international situation shows, reconciliation is not easy to achieve but even in complex circumstances it is not impossible. Wherever we look - the wars in the Middle East, interracial conflicts in the United States, or post-Apartheit South Africa - we find different cases of collective memories of suffering translated into politics decades or even centuries later. Memory is shaped by past events; but it also responds to present modes of thinking. It therefore may be a cause as well as a tool of politics, it may mediate identities of communities as well as of individuals and it may positively or negatively impact the future relationship between comuunities and/or nations. The course is designed for students with a strong interest in social sciences as an approach to the human condition in general and an interest in how politics is shaped by policymakers as well as by the influence of factors beyond politicians' control such as pre-formed mind frames, traditions of thought and attitudes transmitted through societal influences.

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Master of International Affairs Master of Public Policy

The politics of terrorism

Year 2 | Elective course (E1254 , 6 credits)
Module: 5. Security & Sustainability Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Julian Wucherpfennig

Abstract

This course offers an introduction to the logic of terrorism. Terrorism has long been a common feature of world politics, enabling small groups of individuals to have a disproportionate influence on the politics of both developed and underdeveloped countries. How does terrorism work? The central goal of the course is to encourage students to think of terrorist activity not as the work of the mad but of self-interested and calculating political actors. As such, the course emphasises the principled interaction between terrorist organisations and the state, rather than the particular individuals involved. It explores some of the fundamental questions of terrorism: Why do collective non-state actors resort to terrorist activity, why do terrorist groups adopt certain tactics such as suicide bombing, how do terrorist groups organise themselves and which counterterrorism strategies are effective?

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

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Master of International Affairs Master of Public Policy

Urban bureaucracy and policy in the age of political turbulence

Year 2 | Elective course (E1372 , 6 credits)
Module: 5. Management & Organisation Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Kai Wegrich

Abstract

The city is an increasingly relevant – and contested – venue for policymaking. Key policy issues, such as housing, mobility, social inclusion, migration and crime are played out in the urban context. Pressing problems – such as rent overload, gentrification, homelessness, pollution and access to public services and transportation – cluster in urban areas. In the past, urban and local policymaking were considered apolitical jobs for ‘urban mechanics’ fixing things. Societal change, political polarisation and identity politics have increased the level of contestation and conflict. Digitalisation and the rise of platform businesses – such as Airbnb, Uber and many delivery services – have contributed to these changes. New actors and activists populate urban politics in response to such developments. In mobility policy, for example, pro-bike advocates are pitched against car users. With local bureaucracy being caught in the middle of such conflicts, it has to deal with adversaries in urban policy conflicts and, at times, it becomes a (partisan) actor itself. Local bureaucracies work under challenging conditions: Limited resources, diverse populations and the combining of front line and policy work with direct exposure to politics. How do bureaucracies respond and adapt to these challenges? How do capacities and expertise develop under such conditions and what kind of innovations are proliferated in the “age of turbulence”?

In this course, we explore how new politics shape (urban) bureaucracy and policy in the fields of housing, transport and policing. We will explore how urban bureaucracies adapt to changing political, societal and economic conditions. The course brings you to the “coalface” of policy implementation, where policy (and power) hits the street. You will engage in small-scale field research that explores the responses of urban bureaucracies to new types of challenges in terms of enforcement, service delivery and planning (i.e. classic functions of local bureaucracies). The course encourages field work on cities in any world region to allow for a comparative perspective.

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

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Master of International Affairs Master of Public Policy

Welfare states in transition

Year 2 | Elective course (E1362 , 6 credits)
Module: 5. Management & Organisation Concentration Elective | 6. Portfolio Elective
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Anke Hassel

Abstract

This course is jointly taught with Sciences Po Paris, under the framework of CIVICA, the European University of the Social Sciences. Students from both universities will be enrolled.

Welfare states in advanced industrial democracies have faced transformative change over the last three decades. As economies have moved from manufacturing to service sector jobs, the role of financial services has risen, and the knowledge economy has started to embrace automation and digital tools, the role of work and the protection of citizens has started to change. In this course, we will look at these transformative changes through the perspective of the political economy. We will show and analyse how closely the welfare state is intertwined with the economic system of particular countries and how governments have used the potential of the welfare state to reboost growth and job creation. We will first investigate these relationships from a conceptual and theoretical angle. In the second part of the course, we will focus on four key policy fields of the welfare state: wages and employment, skills, housing and pensions. Students will become experts in the literature of the advanced welfare state and comparative political economy, and dive deeper into one policy field and research it using comparative case studies. The course provides an analytical insight into the different ways as to how capitalist political economies are organised today. It also provides students with an in-depth understanding of the institutions governing political economies.

The course is divided into two parts: the first part introduces the concept of institutional analysis, covering the theories of the political economy of the welfare state and giving an overview of different types of adjustment. In the second part, we go deeper into policy fields such as skills, labour markets, housing and pensions.

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

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Non-profit organisations: Management and policy

(E1316 , 6 credits)
Instructors: Prof. Helmut K. Anheier, PhD

Abstract

The increased importance of non-profit organisations – as service providers, vehicles of developmental or humanitarian assistance, as policy advocates and social innovators and as instruments of government reform and privatisation – has moved this set of institutions closer to the centre of policy agendas. The course provides students with a conceptual and historical background, examines the various theories that have been proposed, looks at aspects of organisational performance and impact and for the most part, deals with management models as well as policy and regulatory frameworks. The course is interdisciplinary and comparative in the sense that we will examine civil society, non-profit organisations and philanthropy from theoretical and empirical perspectives.

The course uses a variety of instructional formats including lectures, seminar-type discussions, in-class exercises and student presentations. Letter grading is based on attendance, three brief assignments and a final paper.

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

Advanced economics: Concepts and policy applications

Semester 1 | Core course (GRAD-C7adv , 6 credits)
Module: 3. Economics I | 2. Economics I
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Christian Traxler

Abstract

This class is tailored to students with some prior knowledge and/or training in economics. The course will cover a selected set of policy relevant topics in applied microeconomics. In doing so, we will cover conceptual foundations – in particular, empirical methods used in establishing causal relationships – and apply these to a rich set of policy domains. Starting from evidence on income inequality, the first part of the class (Session 1-8) discusses redistributive policies, in particular income taxation, welfare programmes (or universal basic income) and minimum wages. We will empirically explore (and quantify) responses to these policies and analyse welfare implications. The last third of the course (Sessions 9-12) discusses corrective policies in the context of externalities. Next to traditional environmental externalities (and conventional, Pigouvian responses such as CO2 taxation) we will also explore the correction of “internalities” (e.g., in the context of sugar taxation).

Note that the course will be centred on micro-policies which affect individual and household decision making. We will not cover Macroeconomic questions and hardly discuss the choices of firms.

This course is for 1st 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

Economics I

Semester 1 | Core course (C7 , 6 credits)
Module: 3. Economics I | 2. Economics I
Instructors: Ciril Bosch-Rosa

Abstract

The course offers an introduction to some of the key concepts used by economists, with a focus on microeconomic analysis. The main topics covered include consumer and producer behavior, competitive markets, as well as market failure and the need for governmental intervention. We will also go over some advanced topics such as game theory and how information and uncertainty complicate the optimal functioning of markets. The goal of the course is for students to learn how economists think and it is built around three components. The first of these is the theory and ideas that economists use to structure their thinking. The second component is policy applications and debates where this theory will be applied and put to test, while the third is evidence from empirical studies to highlight principles of applied research design.

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Master of Public Policy

Public management

Semester 1 | Core course (GRAD-C3 , 6 credits)
Module: 2. Public Management
Instructors: Salvador Parrado, Prof. Dr. Luciana Cingolani, Wolfgang Seibel

Abstract

Public policymaking relies on organisations, which perform different roles. On the one hand, ministries and central agencies make the policies by drafting bills, negotiating with interest groups or designing regulations. On the other hand, public agencies, private sector organisations and NGOs deliver public services and implement public policies. This course is about the design and operation of these organisations that matter for public policy. The course introduces concepts that:
•    Help students understand how these organisations shape the design and implementation of public policies and how they can, in turn, be ‘governed.’
•    Engage with controversies regarding the design and operation of public organisations, such as the (dis)advantages of using market-type mechanisms to govern public services.

This course is for 1st year MPP students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of International Affairs

Statistics I: Inference and regression

Semester 1 | Core course (C5 , 6 credits)
Module: 2. Statistics I
Instructors: Prof. Mark Kayser, PhD

Abstract

This course offers an introduction to quantitative research methods for public policy. By the end of the semester, students should have a better acquaintance with quantitative methods conducive to empirical policy research and the ability to understand and critique the techniques employed by others. No prior knowledge of statistics is assumed and we will make every effort to address concepts both quantitatively and theoretically. Additionally, every student will attend a weekly lab session run by a teaching assistant in which concepts will be reinforced, where possible, through hands-on application using R. The goal of this course is not only to produce sophisticated consumers of quantitative research but to provide the necessary skills for students to conduct their own research. As such, we eschew the conventional stopping point for an introductory statistics course and spend several weeks on multiple regression. Almost no phenomena in the social world result from singular causality, so a useful applied course must train students in assessing multiple causality. We do so.

This course is for 1st year MIA and MPP students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of Data Science for Public Policy

The policy process: Multilevel climate governance

Semester 1 | Core course (C1-1020 , 6 credits)
Module: 1. Policy Process | 2. Policy Process
Instructors: Harald Fuhr

Abstract

This course consists of two interdependent parts. The first section covers key concepts of the policy process and theoretical approaches relating to the analysis of (multilevel) governance arrangements. In the second section, we will apply these concepts and theoretical approaches to the analysis of responses to the climate crisis at different levels of government. During the course, we will review experiences and lessons learnt from OECD and non-OECD countries and address the following key questions in particular: How has agenda-setting taken place at the global level and in selected national administrations? Who have been the relevant state and non-state actors in this process? How have different national governments reacted and what kinds of instruments for mitigation and adaptation have they applied? Are there tensions emerging between the mitigation commitments of OECD and non-OECD governments? How can we understand policy change and resistance to change, and what have been typical societal conflicts and power struggles unfolding at different levels of government? What has been the role of subnational actors and city networks in addressing climate policies? To what extent have governments considered green growth and low-carbon strategies as possible solutions to tackle the climate crisis?

This course is for 1st year MPP and MDS students only.

 

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Master of Public Policy Master of Data Science for Public Policy

The policy process: Digital governance

Semester 1 | Core course (GRAD-C1-1027 , 6 credits)
Module: 1. Policy Process | 2. Policy Process
Instructors: Prof. Daniela Stockmann, PhD

Abstract

This course aims to give students an introduction into public policy, policy analysis and the policy process. Public policies are the instruments with which the state attempts to exercise control over the public domain. Policy analysis deals with choosing the best means to obtain a specified end. The policy process focuses on the capacity of political actors to decide about these instruments.


While the theme of the course is the policy process, the examples used in the course are taken from digital governance and platform regulation. As states become more digitized increasingly governments are trying to influence digital transformation. On the one hand, digitization is strongly connected to economic growth. On the other hand, digitization also has important social and political consequences, many of which are considered to challenge political stability and democracy. This course focuses on the development of a European approach towards co-regulating social media platforms in an effort to stabilize democracies in Europe.

This course is for 1st year MPP and MDS students only.

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Master of Public Policy Master of Data Science for Public Policy

The policy process: Education, work and high skills

Semester 1 | Core course (C1-1025 , 6 credits)
Module: 2. Policy Process | 1. Policy Process
Instructors: Prof. Dr. Lukas Graf

Abstract

 Societies are changing at a seemingly unprecedented rate, a development that demands new public policies promoting equity and prosperity for all. This course introduces students to the foundations of policy analysis, the policy process, and public policy more generally, with a broad (but not exclusive) thematic focus on education, skill formation, and employment in increasingly knowledge-based economies. Students will learn about the rationale of policy analysis as a multidisciplinary field, the four perspectives on the policy process (rational, political, cultural, and institutional), and the effect of institutions and actors on policymaking. The course has three main components. First, students will explore fundamental theories to understand and classify public policies. These theories and concepts include the policy cycle, policy feedback, policy instruments, experimentalist governance, welfare states, social investment, varieties of capitalism, and trajectories of liberalization. Second, students will learn methods to analyse public policies, such as process tracing, modes of institutional change, discourse analysis, and comparative case studies. Third, students will apply the theories and methods to a range of empirical cases in and outside of Europe. By combining these three components throughout the course, students will be equipped to connect the concepts with practical applications and unpack complex policy processes. The course acquaints them with the tools and skills to answer questions such as: How are policy problems defined and put on the political agenda? Who are the relevant actors, and how do they interact? What role does the institutional context play? Why are some issues tackled differently in non-Western welfare states? How are knowledge capitalism and the digital platform economy changing skill formation and jobs? The course enables students to analyse key factors that lie at the core of policymaking and to transfer the respective concepts and methods also to other, related policy fields.

This course is for 1st year MPP and MDS students only.

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