Course 2023-2024 a.y.

The course provides the main analytical tools needed to understand the functioning of national and international policy making. The course is structured as follows.

• Brief introduction on the relations and main differences between political science and public policy analysis.
• Policy analysis theory and analysis of the various policy process phases.
• Case study analysis and discussion. The tools provided in the first part of the course are used in order to understand specific policy evolutions and changes over the past decades.

• Understand patterns of decision-making in various national and international contexts.
• Unpack the policy content into various dimensions in order to better grasp the different drivers of policy-oriented political behaviour and public decisions.
• Detect similarities and differences among various policy preferences of policy actors in various decision-making contexts. 

• Identify policy preferences and map the positioning of various actors with reference to a specific international or national policy.
• Provide policy feedbacks under the form of comparative assessments and comparative policy background analyses.
• Draft and communicate policy recommendations and write policy briefs and/or memos aimed at influencing preference formation and negotiation of policy actors.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Individual assignments
• Group assignments
• Interactive class activities on campus/online (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)

Guest speakers will provide insights on the practical application of global public health issues as experts who work in the field itself/outside of academia. Case studies will allow students to work together on real world issues in fostering, building teambuilding skills and critical thinking that applies concepts from class. There will also be a Model UN simulation where students will be delegates to the UNGA and be able to play a role for a public health crisis simulation to apply concepts from class to problem-solving skills. And finally, students will present a policy proposal in groups that demonstrates mastery of the analytical skills learned in class as well as substantive knowledge regarding an important policy issue.

Attending students will complete a final exam, do a policy pitch, and be graded based on class discussions and cases. 

Non-attending students will be graded based on a final exam.

• Coursepack: Collection of articles and book chapters (available online).