This course introduces the main theories of regulatory governance, as well as their policy implications in different fronts.  Regulation is about making, enforcing and monitoring rules. Regulatory governance refers to how rules are introduced as an authoritative policy in markets and societies, which actors and institutions and involved in, and how they are legitimized, contested or adjusted by regulatees.  While governing by rules is probably a common purpose of any political community, regulation as a mode of governance has grown exponentially in the past three to four decades over the world, connected to the globalization trends and the expansion of the administrative state. Such changes have opened multiple spaces for the expansion of regulatory policies and their associated bureaucracies, as well as the involvement of multiple stakeholders and concerned audiences. 

After emerging in the United States of America and Europe, this mode of governance, which aims to separate political and technical decision-making, has diffused to most developed and developing countries in more recent times. From global governance to local politics, policy instruments based on rules are essential to the activity of political institutions, with a strong impact in most facets of our economies and societies.

Avaluació

The course is structured in twelve sessions. Students are expected to read beforehand a list of key readings and are encouraged to participate actively during lectures. 

Students will be required to prepare four short essays of no more than 1000 words each one (one essay for each module), based on some questions raised by instructors, class discussions and the required readings. More details will be given by the instructor of each module in due course.

Each assessment will count for 25% of the course’s grade.