Analysing Public Policy: Institutions, Time and Processes

Governments, whether in Denmark or elsewhere, often find themselves embroiled in complex processes when addressing problems emerging on the policy agenda. The way in which governments respond to policy problems is puzzling, not only for scholars but often also for practitioners. Numerous questions lend themselves to scrutiny. For instance, why do governments declare some social or economic conditions policy problems while ignoring others? Why are politicians overreacting in relation to some policy problems while underreacting when addressing others? Why can a public policy be considered a success and failure at the same time? Why do different governments confronting similar problems address them in very different ways? Why are some policies difficult to reform despite obvious needs for change? Why do policies which have been stable for long periods of time become exposed to demands for radical change? Why are some policy reforms reversed in the post-enactment phase while others are enduring?

The course will introduce and utilise classic as well as more recent concepts and analytical frameworks to explain some of the policy phenomena that puzzles students of public policy. The first part of the course will introduce the participants to theoretical approaches to studying the five basic stages of the policy process and discuss some of the more recent developments in the policy studies discipline, taking mainly a temporal perspective. The policy phenomena being addressed will include path dependency, punctuated equilibrium, sequencing, policy feedbacks, policy capacity, policy design, reform sustainability, disproportionality in public policy and policy success and failure. The way in which these analytical concepts have been applied to study real world policy challenges will be illustrated through examples and discussed in class.

In the second part of the course, the participants will apply the theoretical concepts and analytical frameworks by analysing real world examples of policy making. The students select their own case and analytical framework for their assignment. Individual supervision by the teacher is offered in this process.

The course is designed for Danish and international students. The wealth of knowledge on national policy processes brought to the classroom by the students will be utilised to explore nuances in concept application and to explore how differences in institutions affect policy making.

Carsten Daugbjerg is a political scientist and Professor in the Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen. He was a Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University (ANU) from 2013 to 2018 and is now an Honorary Professor at this institution. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Co-editor of the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning. His research area is comparative and global public policy with a particular interest in policy network and governance theories, historical institutionalism, ideational and policy paradigm theory, policy instrument and policy design theory.