Governance, Public Values, and the Law

Catalog description

This course examines the design of governance structures from a values perspective. Governance structures are configurations of institutions (rules or norms) that govern the practice of public administration and the implementation of public policy. Contemporary governance includes a wide variety of such structures, from the bureaucratic hierarchies to participatory mini-publics. We explore how theories about public values - particularly democratic values - explain different ways in which governance structures help to maintain a state's commitment to those values. Our study is informed by theoretical and empirical literatures in state building and state capacity, democracy, and public administration and policy. Because governance structures have essential features that are enshrined in law, we will engage with literatures in administrative law. Because the examples of governance structures we consider are from a variety of national contexts, we will engage literatures that are cross-national and comparative, providing students with an advanced understanding of the role of governance structures in democratic societies.