POLS 321 Government and Public Policy

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1 POLS 321 Government and Public Policy Dr Bryce Edwards: Tuesday & Wednesday: BURNS6, 1pm 1

2 POLS 321: Lecture schedule Date Day Lecture Topic 9 July Tues 1 Introduction 10 Wed 2 What is Politics? 16 Tues 3 Political Ideas and Ideologies 17 Wed 4 Political Ideas and Ideologies II 23 Tues 5 Politics and the State 24 Wed 6 Politics and the State II 30 Tues 7 Democracy and Legitimacy 31 Wed 8 Nations and Nationalism 6 August Tues 9 Political Economy and Globalization 7 Wed 10 Politics, Society and Identity 13 Tues 11 Political Culture and the Media 14 Wed 12 Representation, Elections and Voting 20 Tues 13 Parties and Party Systems 21 Wed 14 Groups, Interests and Movements Mon-Fri Mid-semester break 3 Sept Tues 15 Governments, Systems and Regimes 4 Wed 16 Political Executives and Leadership 6 Sept Friday Research project proposal due 10 Tues 17 Assemblies 11 Wed 18 Constitutions, Law and Judges 17 Tues 19 Public Policy and the Bureaucracy 18 Wed 20 Public Policy and the Bureaucracy II 24 Tues 21 Multilevel Politics 25 Wed 22 Security: Domestic and International 1 Oct Tues 23 World Order and Global Governance 2 Wed 24 A Crisis in Politics? 8 Tues 25 A Crisis in Politics? II 9 Wed 26 Conclusions 11 Oct Friday Research project due Introduction to POLS 321 POLS 321 examines theories and descriptions of how and why governments make and implement policy decisions, with special reference to New Zealand. The course focuses on the questions of: Why do governments pursue certain courses of action and implement particular sets of policies during specific periods of history? Who makes policy and how? Why does policy matter? What is the relationship between economic and political power? Who runs New Zealand? More generally, how do we understand politics? The overall aim of the course is for students to understand how and why public policy is made in New Zealand and elsewhere. There will be a dual focus in the course: on both New Zealand politics and also on international comparative politics. The textbook takes an international comparative focus, while the lectures will focus more on the New Zealand case study. 2

POLS 321 is part of the New Zealand Politics stream of study within the Department of Politics. It builds on much of the focus in POLS 102 NZ Politics Introduction.

3 POLS 321 is part of the New Zealand Politics stream of study within the Department of Politics. It builds on much of the focus in POLS 102 NZ Politics Introduction. It also relates closely to other New Zealand papers such as POLS 303 NZ Political Economy, POLS 207 Environmental Politics, and POLS 404 Politics and Society. Readings The text for the course is Politics by Andrew Heywood, fourth edition, 2013 see the image below. This is available in UBS for about $75. The text is essential reading in order to understand the lectures, as well as to write your research proposal and final project. It is recommended that students read the required readings after attending class. The lectures are designed as introductions to each topic, and the readings are provided to give a more indepth and complimentary elaboration of the subject. Readings are necessary for understanding lectures. Some theoretical issues will be difficult to understand without reading the required material. It is difficult to do well in this course simply by relying on the lectures. Overall, students are expected to undertake at least 12 hours a week of self-directed study. Don t read for facts. Instead, focus on the main conceptual point or argument of each article, and think about how it informs your understanding of public policy. 3

4 These are additional readings that might aid your understanding of any particular topic, or may be useful in essay research. Some of the additional readings will be available as handouts in class or as PDFs on Facebook. Students will be expected to read widely using the library and other sources of information, as well as the core readings. Teaching/learning approaches and resources Lecture notes will be provided at the start of every lecture. These notes begin with a summary of the learning objectives for that topic. A short video will screen in the lead up to the lecture. After lectures, the presentation notes will be available as PDFs on the Facebook groups page. You will also find other resource material on the Facebook groups page, such as additional readings for all lecture topics. Most weeks you will be expected to spend 2 hours in lectures, and 4-6 hours in selfdirected activities such as reading, making summary notes etc. The research project will require work in addition to these hours. Facebook Facebook is being used for this course, not Blackboard. There are two pages available an official POLS 321 Facebook Page that is mainly intended for an external audience (i.e. students interested in enrolling) and an internal POLS 321 Facebook group (i.e. for students enrolled in the course). POLS 321 Facebook Page: POLS 321 Facebook Group: Assessment This course is 100% internally assessed. The assessment is based around a research project. The project requires students to either explore the nature of political power in New Zealand, or else choose one area of public policy to explain and make recommendations on. The first component of this is a research proposal and annotated bibliography. On the basis of this, students will then give a ten-minute presentation in class. The final component will be a full research report. Research proposal & annotated bibliography (due 6 Sept, 4pm) 30% Presentation in class 10% Research project (due 11 October, 4pm) 60% 4

5 Research project Choose one topic: 1) Who runs New Zealand? Explain the nature of political power with reference to one or more institutions or sectors of New Zealand. This project is about explaining who has power and influence in New Zealand. There are many possible focuses. You could either give an overview of who runs New Zealand, focus on one or more of the institutions examined in the course, or pick an additional area (such as the agriculture and primary sector, sport, entertainment, and the arts, the education and health sectors; the finance sector, etc). There is also the option of focusing on a different country. 2) Provide an examination of the nature of the public policy in one particular area of New Zealand politics. You should choose an area of public policy that interests you and use it as a case study to highlight the public policy process in New Zealand (or elsewhere). This is an opportunity for you to communicate your understanding of government and how public policy is made in New Zealand, from an academic point of view. Your project should be analytically descriptive. The project is not about the finer details of a particular policy area, but about the policy process involved. So, rather than describe the substance of a policy area, discuss and evaluate the role of the relevant actors, influences and processes involved. Case studies are designed to allow students to explore particular areas of public policy of interest to them and explore and/or apply theory to practical issues. It s a chance to consolidate, extend and reflect on the issues and ideas discussed in lectures and readings. As such, it s designed to stimulate critical, independent, and imaginative thinking about core issues while requiring scholarship. For both topics, the first stage of the research project is to submit a research proposal. This should include an annotated bibliography. Further details will be provided in tutorials. The suggested word length is 2000 words. The second stage requires a 10-minute presentation to be made in tutorials. This will outline your research question, and what you are trying to achieve. The third stage will be the completion of research report. The suggested word length is 4000 words. Note that the grading scheme used at Otago is: A A A B B

6 B C C C D E <40 Your research proposal and final report will be returned to you with a marking sheet assessing you on the following criteria: Answer to the question Argument Introduction and conclusion Written expression Grammar and spelling Structure and presentation Referencing and bibliography Evidence of research Critical & original thought Research projects should: be typed be double-spaced have a cover sheet (with the essay topic, course code, your student id number and name, and the plagiarism declaration) use section headings to clearly indicate to the reader how the essay has been structured have an introduction providing an indication to the reader of how the essay addresses the topic and is going to proceed show evidence of research and thought comply with the departmental handout on referencing for instance, short quotations should be placed in quotation marks within the body of the essay. Longer quotations should be entirely indented and single-spaced For your convenience, a formatted research project template is available to download from the Facebook Groups page. What do I do if I need more time? Extensions for medical reasons or due to extreme personal difficulties must be arranged in advance by completing an Extension Request Form (available from the Politics Office). Penalty for non-negotiated lateness is 5% per day. No assessment more than four days late (without an extension) will be marked. Late essays are not guaranteed to include feedback. Referencing style used in POLS321 You will find information about different referencing styles at: 6

7 Plagiarism/dishonest practice You should make sure that all submitted work is your own. Care should be taken to correctly cite the work of others and the teaching team are happy to provide guidance on this, or you can consult materials provided by the Student Learning Centre (see Plagiarism is defined as copying or paraphrasing another's work, whether intentionally or otherwise, and presenting it as one's own (approved University Council, December 2004). Any student found responsible for plagiarism in any piece of work submitted for assessment shall be subject to the University's dishonest practice regulations ( click on academic policies, and then scroll to Dishonest Practice) which may result in various penalties, including forfeiture of marks for the piece of work submitted, a zero grade for the paper, or in extreme cases exclusion from the University. You will find information about different referencing styles at: The Politics Department takes plagiarism very seriously. Therefore this course requires students to undertake the following two steps in submitting your essay: 1) an electronic copy of your essay to me. This will allow your essay to be automatically checked for plagiarism by the University s SafeAssign software. 2) Include the following statement to your essay: Declaration: I have read and understood the University plagiarism policy. I declare that this assignment is entirely my own work, all sources have been properly acknowledged, and that I have not previously submitted this work, or any version of it, for assessment in any other paper. Impairment If you are suffering from anything that is likely to impair your study in this course, please let me know as soon as possible. If you let me know of any problems I can make arrangements for appropriate support. Intended learning outcomes for the paper By the completion of this course, students will be able to: Apply an advanced conceptual understanding of the theories of the state and ideology Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the New Zealand public policy process including the function of government departments Apply critical thinking and analytical skills to contemporary public policy issues 7

8 Demonstrate research skills on a contemporary policy issue, and the ability to prepare a research report in the style and standard of a government department What do you do if you have concerns about the course? I hope you will feel comfortable coming to talk to me if you have a concern about the course. I will be happy to discuss any concerns. Alternatively, report your concerns to the student representative who will follow up with Departmental staff. If, after making approaches via these channels, you do not feel that your concerns have been addressed, there are university channels that may aid resolution. For further advice and more information on these channels, contact the departmental administrator or Head of Department. Contact details I am usually in my office in the Arts Building, which is 4N6 (4 th Floor, North Wing, Room 6). If there is anything urgent or pressing, you are welcome to check if my door is open. Otherwise you can make an appointment by ing me, or drop in during my consultation hours of 3-5pm on Wednesdays. Room 4N6 Office hours: Wednesday 3:00 5:00pm Ph ; ; bryce.edwards@otago.ac.nz 8

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