Annotation
This course engages with the policies and policymaking of the EU through both an examination of the theoretical underpinnings of policymaking and concrete studies of current policy issues. The course introduces students to the major theories of public policymaking and illustrates them in a seminar setting with examples from a range of policy areas.
To a degree, we follow a policy design perspective by looking individually at various aspects of the policy process, but at the same time recognize the limitations of this model, and thus look at policy from the perspective of a garbage can approach. We situate and critique different theories in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and overall usefulness for explaining the development of EU policy.
The course focuses on environmental, energy, and agricultural policy, but also touches on health, social, economic and digital policies.