Course Syllabus

Course Title: PUBLIC POLICY.

Course number: JSM518

Semester: Winter 2023/2024

This course was evaluated by students as the Golden Course in the Academic year 2022/2023.

All instructions will be delivered in the Faculty of Social Sciences building, U Kříže 8, Prague 5 - Jinonice.

The volume of instruction: 2/1

Number of credits: 9

Course leader:

Prof. PhDr. Martin Potůček, CSc. MSc., potucek@fsv.cuni.cz

Assistant course leader, English seminar facilitator:

Mgr. Mirna Jusić, Ph.D., mirna.jusic@fsv.cuni.cz

Czech seminar facilitators:

Ing. Radek Kovács, radek.kovacs@fsv.cuni.cz

Doc. Ing. et Ing. Eliška Vejchodská, Ph.D., eliska.vejchodska@fsv.cuni.cz

Prof. PhDr. Martin Potůček, CSc. MSc., potucek@fsv.cuni.cz

Consultations: https://konzultace.fsv.cuni.cz

Moodle: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=14997

To apply, use your username and password for the Central Authentication Service of Charles University.

Rooms and time:

Lectures: FSV UK, U Kříže 8, Praha 5, Jinonice room C122, Mondays, 15:30 - 18:20

Czech seminars: Prezenční výuka proběhne v místnosti C220, pondělí 15:30 – 16:50, 18:30 – 19:50

English seminars: In-person teaching will take place in room C221, Mondays from 17:00 – 18:20. Hybrid teaching for PASP students temporarily without access to a Czech visa will be provisionally mediated via the MSTeams platform at the link provided by the International Office (see top of the page in SIS).

Registration prerequisite:

This course is offered exclusively to students of the Master’s programs of Veřejná a sociální politika (VERASP), Public and Social Policy (PASP), and students of the 2^nd and 3^rd year of the International Economic and Political Studies (IEPS) program.

Note: Students in the first year of the International Economic and Political Studies program (the specialization International Politics) should enroll in the compulsory course JSM588 Theory of Public Policy.

Goals of instruction:

The course provides a comprehensive introduction to public policy as a scientific discipline as published in the key textbook Public Policy, which is available online free of charge on the Charles University eResources Portal. (Nejnovější česká učebnice Veřejná politika, vydání 2016, je k dispozici pouze v knižní podobě.) It defines its key terms and theories in a broader context of the development of contemporary societies, and the way it can identify social and policy problems and devise solutions thereof. Students will be engaged in critical thinking and studying, systematic work with scholarly literature, and active participation in lectures and seminars.

Consultations: https://konzultace.fsv.cuni.cz

The timeline of lectures and seminars. Mondays.

Day

Content

2 Oct

Lecture #1

Introduction to the course, lectures, and seminars.

A1 Public interests and public policy.

A2 Values in Public Policy. Historical Institutionalism.

Na konci přednášky bude českým studentům nabídnuto okénko otázek a odpovědí v češtině.

9 Oct

Seminar #1

Introduction to the discipline and seminar. Discussion of choice of topics, recommended structure of presentations, and basic rules of crediting sources.

16 Oct

Lecture #2

A3 Governance. Corporatist Intermediation. Policy networks.

A4 Actors and Institutions. Actor-Centered Institutionalism.

How to compile the Open Space Presentation.

23 Oct

Seminar #2

Presentations on the general topic “Actors and Institutions”.

Potůček, M. et al. 2017. Public Policy. Prague, Karolinum Press, chapters A3, A4.

Schuyler House, R., Araral Jr., E. The institutional analysis and development framework. In: Araral Jr, E., Fritzen, S., Howlett, M., M Ramesh, Wu, X. (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Public Policy. New York: Routledge, 2013. Pp. 115–124.

30 Oct

Lecture #3

A5 Public policy instruments. Discursive Institutionalism. Advocacy Coalition Framework.

A6 Public Policy Process. The Stage of Problem Delimitation and Problem Recognition. Agenda Setting.

To present and discuss approved students´ Open Space Presentations.

How to write the Critical Reflection on November 13^th.

6 Nov

Seminar #3:

Presentations on the general topic “From social problems to policy problems.”

Potůček, M. et al. 2017. Public Policy. Prague, Karolinum Press, Chapter A6.

Hisschemöller, R., Hoppe, R. 2001. Coping with Intractable Controversies: The case for problem structuring in policy design and analysis. In Hisschemöller, R., Hoppe, R., Dunn, W. N., Ravetz, J. Policy Studies Review Annual. Pp. 47–72.

Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., Perl, A. 2009. 3^rd edition. “Agenda-setting,” in Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 93-109.

13 Nov

15:30 – 16:50 Handwritten assignment: Critical reflection on the topics of the first three lectures. Answers in Czech, Slovak, or English.

17:00 – 18:20

Lecture #4

A7 Policy Formulation and Decisionmaking. Veto Players. Multiple Streams Framework.

To present and discuss approved students´ Open Space Presentations.

20 Nov

Seminar #4

Presentations on the general topic “Public Policy Design”.

Potůček, M. et al. 2017. Public Policy. Prague, Karolinum Press, chapters A5, A7.

Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., Perl, A. 2009. 3^rd edition. “Policy Formulation: Policy Instruments and Policy Design,” in Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 110-138.

27 Nov

Lecture #5

A8 Policy Implementation. Theories of Bureaucracy. Principal-Agent Model.

A9 Policy Evaluation. Rational (Public) Choice Theory.

To present and discuss approved students´ Open Space Presentations.

4 Dec

Seminar #5

Presentations on the general topic “Values and Ideologies in public policy as a practice”

Potůček, M. et al. 2017. Public Policy. Prague, Karolinum Press, chapter A2.

Goodin, R. E., M. Rein, M. Moran. “The Public and Its Policies,” in The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy. Oxford, 2008. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199548453.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199548453-e-001

Fischer, F. Policy Expertise and the Argumentative Turn. 2013. Revue Francaise de Science Politique. 63(3-4) 579-601. https://ww