PPAD 000/5181 - Public Policy Theory and Practice (3 cr.)

This course provides a review of the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the state, institutions and public policy and explores the dynamic relationship between state, society and the economy. The course addresses the issue of who governs and how policies are made and relates these questions to democracy and decision-making. Throughout the course we analyze to what extent the concepts that we encounter are applicable to the Middle East. Furthermore, the course encourages students to examine how institutions (positively and negatively) shape a variety of political phenomena and outcomes in developing countries, including (economic) reform policy and democratic transition.