Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE PPL5012

 
TITLE Comparative Governance and Institutional Design

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Public Policy

 
DESCRIPTION ‘Governance’ is the new term that has replaced the notion of government. It seeks to impart notions of inclusion, greater participation and accountability. Thus, the study-unit examines fundamental ideas, concepts and issues about governance and institutional design, including:
- New dimensions of democratic governance, including discourses about rights and processes of democratisation;
- The theoretical aspects of governance and their practical implementation in the management of modern governing institutions operating at national, sub-national and supra-national levels, including the governance of global assets such as the climate, water and cyber-space;
- The changing relationship between the public and private sectors, including both commercial and not-for-profit organisations;
- The changing role of the state in economic affairs, considering patterns of both change and continuity;
- The notion of the regulatory state, which erects broad policy frameworks, regulates markets through ‘arms-length’ statutory authorities;
- Decentralisation as a tool for governance, including the consequences for the constitutional order and the model of a centralised, unitary state;
- The prevailing pattern of governance in Malta, comparing and contrasting this with major governance traditions.

Study-unit Aims:

The fundamental aim of this study-unit is to lay a solid foundation in the science of governance, by means of a critical examination of leading theories of governance, classical and contemporary.

Secondly, the study-unit is designed to give students an appreciation of the issues of principle and practice that arise in the design and reform of governing institutions. Thus, the study-unit blends theory with the practical concerns of policy-makers.

The study-unit takes a comparative approach, the better to promote an understanding of the Maltese pattern of governance, the historical forces shaping it, and the distinctive policy-making environment that this produces.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the leading issues in modern governance, specifically the regulation of 'wicked' policy problems, the design of governing institutions and instruments, and the integrity of policy-making and administration;
- Compare the pattern of governance in Malta with political cultures, systems and institutions in other states;
- Identify and assess the forces propelling the development of governance arrangements which are gradually developing in under-governed spheres of human activity, such as the climate, water, and cyber-space.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Conduct research on complex governance scenarios, analysing data in the light of the theoretical frameworks covered by the study unit;
- Present the findings of academic research in high-level academic and policy seminars, defending the findings and conclusions against expert criticism;
- Devise governance frameworks which address the needs of specific policy sectors.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- Hirst, P., and Thompson, G., (1996), Globalization in Question: The International Economy and the Possibilities of Governance, Polity Press, UK.
- Knack, S. 2003. Democracy, Governance and Growth. College Part, Md: University of Maryland Press.
- Kooiman, Jan (ed). 1993. Modern Governance: New Government-Society Interactions. London, Sage.
- Kooiman, Jan. 2003. Governing as Governance. London: Sage.
- Martin, L. (ed) 2008. Global Governance. Ashgate.
- Ohmae, K., (1996), The End of the Nation State, Harper Collins, UK.
- Pierre, Jon (ed). 2000. Debating Governance: Authority, Steering and Democracy. Oxford: OUP.
- Pirotta, G. A., and Wettenhall, R., (eds.), Special Issue, (2001), Governance of Small Jurisdictions, in Public Organization Review: A Global Journal, Volume 1, No. 2, June 2001, Kluwer Academic Publishers, USA.
- Stoker, G., and Pyper, R., (eds.), Special Issue, (1997), Understanding Governance, in Public Policy and Administration, Volume 12, No. 2, Summer 1967, PAC, Joint University Council, UK.
- Warrington, E., (ed.), Special Issue, (1994), Symposium on the Governance of Small and Island States, in The Asian Journal of Public Administration, Volume 16, No. 1, June 1994, University of Hong Kong
- Warrington, E, (ed.), Special Issue, (1998), The Impact of External Relations on the Domestic Policies and Governing Institutions of Micro-states, in Public Administration and Development, Vol. 18 No. 2, May 1998, Wiley, UK
- Baldacchino, Godfrey & David Milne (eds). 2000. Lessons from the Political Economy of Small Islands: The Resourcefulness of Jurisdiction. Basingstoke: Macmillan, in association with the Institute of Island Studies, Prince Edward Island.
- Baldacchino, G & D Milne (Guest Editors). 2006. Special Issue: Sub-national Island Jurisdictions. The Round Table, Issue 386, September 2006.
- Vassallo, Mario (ed). Public Life in Malta: Essays on Governance, Politics and Public Affairs in the EU's Smallest Member State. Malta: University of Malta Press.
- Warrington, Edward & David Milne. 2007. ‘Governance’ in Baldacchino, G (ed). A World of Islands: An Island Studies Reader, Canada: Institute of Island Studies, UPEI & Malta: Agenda Academic, 327-425.

Journals:

- Global Governance.
- Governance.
- Journal of Public Administration and Governance.
- Journal of European Public Policy.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation SEM2 Yes 30%
Research Paper SEM2 Yes 70%

 
LECTURER/S Myrna Marie Azzopardi
Marguerite Camilleri (Co-ord.)

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit