The course explores the international dimension of the definition and implementation of public policies at different governance levels. Global challenges and agendas, international and regional organizations and political actors working cross-nationally are crucial elements in many national and subnational policymaking processes. Different administrative levels interact to coordinate their actions, incorporating various international, national and local stakeholders to the policy process. This may occur both within highly institutionalized contexts such as the European Union or in weakly defined ones that result in international agreements and political agendas, such as the 2030 Agenda.  The process of localizing the implementation of these high-level policy goals paying attention to the specificities of each territory is a key research topic and a fundamental aspect of this course.  Illustrated with specific policy cases and adopting a multilevel governance approach, students will learn about that and other international aspects of the policymaking process. Particularly, the course also considers some policy principles and models currently diffused across countries, such as sustainability, inclusive stakeholder participation, social innovation and quadruple helix models. 

Assessment

• 20% - Class participation
• 50% - Group policy paper (student groups elaborate a policy paper applying topics learned in the course; groups report their work progress in class)
• 30% - Final exam (multiple choice and short-answer questions evaluate knowledge of key course topics)