78140 - Decision Making Models and Institutional Change

Learning outcomes

This course aims to provide students with an in depth knowledge on the variety of models standing across social sciences’ mainstream on decision making in order to enhance their capacity to investigate and master processes of change that take place in the institutions. An administrative reform, a policy to ensure an equal access to health care, a policy aiming to improve the quality of justice, a bargaining process unfolded within the United Nations Assemble, etc. all these phenomena might be interpreted on the basis of different models of decision making, i.e. models of rationality, and accordingly might be differently assessed and eventually improved.

Course contents

Understanding, planning, leading, governing change processes: issues that today call for social sciences' responses and ask to be up in the priority position on the institutional agenda, at any level of governance. Mastering proper and sound tools to critically and comparatively compare the decision-making processes underlying the adoption of regulatory decisions or the implementation of programs of social, economic and regulatory intervention in a broad sense, appears to be a required competence at any level of professionalism. Reasoning for scenarios, knowing how to manage conceptual categories such as the relationship between actor and structure, actor and norm, micro and macro, continuity and discontinuity constitute transversal knowledge and skills of a strategic nature. The course aims to provide a path to achieve these objectives of competence and methodological awareness. Students say: "the structure of this allows students to form a vision from global to particular, which helps to have a more agile knowledge of the subject and the alternatives available in policy-making"; "the possibility of working with a small group and in close contact with the teacher made it easier to appreciate the contribution of the classmates, who in larger groups is less considered by the other students".

Readings/Bibliography

Ulysses and the Sirens: Studies in Rationality and Irrationality, J Elster, C UPress.

International Actors, Democratization and the Rule of Law: Anchoring Democracy?, M Morlino, A Magen, Routledge, London.

Judicial Accountabilities in New Europe, D. Piana, London, Ashgate.

Focused Ref to develop individual case studies

Teaching methods

Teaching methods include lecturing, groups coordination and leadership, individual case studies and design of complex decision making processes. 

Assessment methods

Active participation to the group discussion sessions drawing on individual case studies and redaction of a final paper. 

Teaching tools

Web based platforms, on line data set, traditional bibliography, power point.

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Piana