2136.18 - Public Policy and Administration


Course number
2136.18
Title
Public Policy and Administration
ECTS
10
Prerequisites
Students are required to hold an upper secondary education diploma or equivalent qualification.
Purpose
This course provides an understanding of how public policy and administration work from a general perspective and from a Faroese perspective. At the successful completion of the course, students shall be able to use the relevant theories and methods to understand and analyse political processes as well as be able to evaluate how the Faroese political system is constructed and works.
Content
The course will describe and analyse how political systems formulate goals, achieve those goals, and which policy tools are used in this context. After the people in a democracy have elected the politicians into the parliament, how is policy made? And what role does the civil service play in this regard? The topics covered include, the relationship between politics and the administration, interest groups (lobbyism), governance, oranisational theory, adminstrative theory. Where applicable, the topics will be illustrated with Faroese cases.
Learning and teaching approaches
The duration of the course is 30 hours. The teaching consists of lectures, presentations, discussions, and active participation during which students develop their skills in debating and defending their point of view.
Learning outcomes
The students shall: • Be able to describe the central themes and issues regarding policy-making, implementation,and administration in a democratic system. • Be able to describe and analyse these phenomena with theories and concepts they have learned during the course. • Be able to connect the theories with concrete empirical examples from contemporary society. • Be able to independently use the theories and methods they have learned to analyse and critically evaluate relevant current issues in contemporary society.
Assessment method
Students choose a topic in conjunction with the teacher and write and individual report (10-15 pages), which will be defended in an oral exam.
Examination
External
Marking scale
7-
Bibliography
Approximately 1000-1200 pages.
Contact
Jens Christian Svabo Justinussen