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Home > Degree Programs > Teaching & Courses > Course Listing (2007-08 Academic Year) > Innovations in Democratic Governance: Solving Public Problems
PAL-218: Innovations in Democratic Governance: Solving Public Problems
Faculty: Archon Fung
Schedule
| Day | Time | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Day | 9/12 | ||
| Meet Day | M/W | 4:10 PM - 5:30 PM | L140 |
| Review |
Description
This course examines a wide array of democratic reform efforts that seek to increase the legitimacy, fairness, and effectiveness of governance in state, civil society, and economy through strategies of participation, deliberation, and transparency. The course asks three main questions: (1) What problems can greater participation helpfully address? (2) What institutional designs and structures organize participation in ways that address those problems? (3) What skills and tools are necessary to craft those institutions? We answer these questions by exploring real-world cases of large- and medium-scale reform in the United States, Canada, India, Latin America, and elsewhere. Reforms range across issues and problems that include public budgeting, community development, health care, environmental protection, neighborhood governance, immigration, and public security. Students are expected to apply lessons about participation and institutional design to a policy, organization, or institution of their own choice in term projects.
This course may be used to meet the MPA/ID democratization/governance requirement.