Postgraduate Course: International Dimensions of Public Policy (PGSP11311)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | This course explores fundamental analytical problems and the implications of ongoing developments in the international system for the processes and substance of policy-making. The course draws on theoretical and empirical literature to understand the international dimensions of public policy and global governance. Attention is given to different analytical approaches that emphasise the comparative and changing roles of states and other actors (individuals, international organisations, transnational actors, non-governmental organisations, multinational corporations, etc.) and their influence on the foreign policy decisions of developing and developed countries. Through engagement with practitioners, the course explores both bottom-up and top-down influences of globalisation on policy-making at the international, national and subnational levels. Traditional and non-traditional areas of foreign policy are scrutinised as well as broader themes, including globalisation, international negotiation and international organisation. |
| Course description |
In this course students will cover a range of topics that illustrate the challenges of making public policy that is international/transnational in scope, as well as considering the international constraints and dimensions of domestic policy-making. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, the following:
Conceptual frameworks of the international system
Policy-making through international organisations
International security policy and the decision to use force
International human rights law and policy
International dimensions of various domestic policy decisions
International constraints on governments
The role of non-state actors in the policy-making process
External policies of sub-national governments/authorities.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and understand the various theoretical approaches for explaining important changes in international public policy
- - Compare the roles of states and non-state actors in international public policy-making and global governance
- Critically analyse and understand the effects of globalisation on domestic policy-making and the challenges faced by state and non-state actors
- - Determine the most important obstacles to various actors' ability to exercise and enhance authority
- Identify the domestic political and legal institutions that provide the basis for actors' foreign policy and engagement with the international system
- - Compare important changes in policy-making and global governance across several substantive policy areas
- Apply scholarly knowledge on the international dimensions of policy in a practical context
- - Engage in effective group and individual projects and presentations
- Provide concise foreign policy briefings to policy-makers
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Reading List
Smith, Steve, Amelia Hadfield, and Tim Dunne, eds. (2008), Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lechner, Frank J., and John Boli, eds. (2007), The Globalisation Reader, 3rd edition, Blackwell Publishing.
Ravenhill, John, ed. (2007), Global Political Economy, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Daniel Kenealy
Tel: (0131 6)50 4080
Email: Daniel.Kenealy@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Lee Corcoran
Tel:
Email: Lee.Corcoran@ed.ac.uk |
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