The course aims at providing the students with a wide knowledge of major public policies pursued at the EU and national levels. For the different policies, the course will analyse the key institutional structures and policies pursued, as well as changes in these, comparing across polities and over time. The course will also analyse how different national systems adapt to supranational and international developments.

Knowledge and understanding: The course will offer key theoretical tools to compare public policies. This course provides advanced knowledge and analytical resources that will enable students to understand the processes, content and consequences of different policies across countries, their similarities and differences in the context of European and international developments. Applying knowledge and understanding: The students will be able to: •apply institutionalist models to cross-national comparative case studies of policy making such as economic policy, alteration of governance structures and Europeanisation; •examine major public policies through comparing across countries in Europe as well as the EU level •look at how institutions shape, constrain and enable policy making, including policy change and inertia Making judgements: We expect students to be able to analyze public policy and governance models to demonstrate an indepth, critical understanding of the scope and challenges of public policies. They are expected to be able to discuss and evaluate key policy initiatives and development in the EU and its member states. Throughout the whole course, students will be invited to critically analyse when, how and why certain policies are pursued. Communications Skills: This course will give the students the possibility to acquire and understand major terms and concepts in order to communicate their ideas, proposals, analysis and critical reasoning in the field of public policy in the most effective and appropriate way. Learning skills: This course will contribute to empower learners giving them the tools to determine why certain public policies are followed and others are not and to evaluate explanatory the models in an independent way.

The course focuses on the reality of several public policies in several European countries, offering information about the current discussion in the literature on public policy analysis at different levels of government (European, national, regional and local) and its mutual relationships and interactions. It looks at their types, dynamics, external and internal determinants, change and reform, outcomes and its changing contents in issues like economic, social or environmental policies across several countries. Major issues will include ‘rationality’ in public policy making, why policies are changed or persist and the interactions between the EU and national levels of policy making.

Dodds, A (2nd ed 2018), Comparative Public Policy (Macmillan) Schmidt, VA and Thatcher, M (eds) (2013), Resilient Liberalism in Europe’s Political Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Most readings are available via LUISS on-line subscriptions. Other articles and papers in the syllabus will be uploaded on the course’s web page. For the full reading list, please see LuissLearn

Lectures and presentations on relevant empirical issues. Students’ participation during lectures is strongly encouraged and will be considered in the final assessment.

The main exam is composed of six questions of an unseen exam, at the end of the course covering the whole course programme. Students attending the course (students who have participated and made the presentation) can take three exam questions that count for 75% and participation counts for 25%. Students not attending the course will have to answer 4 exam questions. Students who want to participate in class presentations must sign up for them in the first weeks of the course. Presentations can be done by one to four students in each class. Presentations assigned on the basis of one class topic will be presented to the class at the following class (e.g. the group task assigned in session 7 is to be presented at the beginning of session 8).

28 or higher in this course and others; suitable topic and clear research question

Not directly but links with regulation of energy