JOU 2402 Political decision making processes - RE-SIT EXAMINATION

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2012/2013

JOU 2402 Political decision making processes - RE-SIT EXAMINATION Responsible for the course Department Department of Accounting - Auditing and Law Term According to study plan ECTS Credits 6 Language of instruction Norwegian Introduction The course is designed as an introduction to how modern, democratic states are developed, organized and transformed. It aims to increase the students’ understanding of the shaping of public policy, which instruments are used to achieve objectives that have been democratically decided on, and how international conditions form new external parameters for the nation-state’s exercise of authority over its own citizens and business community. Objective The objective of the course is to provide a survey over the development of the Norwegian welfare society, the institutional architecture its public sector and the decision making processes which forms public policies. In addition the course aims at providing a basic knowlege of which, and how, non-national factors like the EU and 'globalization affect public policy making. Prerequisites None Compulsory reading Books: Fimreite, Anne Lise og Jan Erik Grindheim. 2007. Offentlig forvaltning. 2. utg. Oslo : Universitetsforlaget Rasch, Bjørn Erik. 2010. Demokrati : ideer og organisering. Bergen : Fagbokforlaget Recommended reading Books: Sørensen, Rune J. 2009. En effektiv offentlig sektor : organisering, styring og ledelse i stat og kommune. Oslo : Universitetsforlaget Østerud, Øyvind, Fredrik Engelstad og Per Selle. 2003. Makten og demokratiet : en sluttbok fra Makt- og demokratiutredningen. Oslo : Gyldendal akademisk Course outline 1. State, democracy and market This is a history of ideas introduction to the classical political economy and the justifications for state power and tax-financed production of collective goods. What is a nation-state, and how is the market economy and the state governed by law linked together in a welfare state? What tensions arise between state, democracy and market in a society like the Norwegian. 2. Political government and powerlessness in Norway What are the universal political objectives for democratic government in Norway and how does the parliamentary governmental system function, according to the ideals and in practice? What are the main governmental instruments and what is the relationship between politics, bureaucracy and organized interest groups? 3. The welfare state What characterizes the Norwegian public sector in an international perspective, and how shall we understand governmental problems and reform needs from the angle of objectives regarding social security and equal access to public services? What is understood by the Nordic welfare state model and what are the main tendencies in the demand for welfare state benefits? The connection between state responsiblity and municipal services and the tensions between national equality objectives and effective use of resources. 4. Modernization of the public sector What are the institutional governing methods and the arguments in favour of them? «New Public Management», liberalization, exposure to competition and privatization. What do we know about inefficency in public services and under which conditions is increased use of market mechanisms in agreement with universal political objectives? 5. Globalization and Europeanization What are the formal and actual limitations for Norwegian decision makers of impaired national sovereignty, and how does this create new external constraints on the exercise of democratic control with developments in society? What are the connections between national political-economic institutions and an effective business sector in Norway? Computer-based tools No specified computer-based tools are required. Course structure 36 hours lectures Examination A three hour individual written exam sonckudes the course. Examination code(s) JOU 24021 - The written exam count a 100% for the mark in JOU 2402 Political decision making processes, 6 ECTS credits. Examination support materials none Re-sit examination Due to changes in our Bachelor Programmes from autumn 2009, there also will be changes in every single course. This course was lectured for the last time spring 2011. Re-sit exam will be offered every term even spring 2013. Additional information

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