Over 40 years ago, Thomas Dye defined ‘public policy’ as “anything a government chooses to do or not to do.” Though perhaps oversimplified, good public policy is essential public justice. It is the art of developing government responses to public problems. This course will study the public policy process that governments establish within which citizens function, and within which laws are made, challenged, and changed. Issues studied will include approaches to public policy, actors, institutions and instruments of policy, agenda setting, public policy formation and decision making, implementation, and evaluation. Students will develop research based on a major problem in public policy at any level of municipal, provincial, or federal jurisdiction.
Prerequisites:
Introduction to Politics & International Studies (POL‑121)
Introduction to Politics & International Studies
POL‑121
An introduction to the study of politics, including forms of government, the building blocks of politics, and the various visions that people bring to political life.
