STV4822N ¨C The Politics of Bureaucracy

Course content

The study of bureaucracy is the study of politics. Political decisions affect bureaucracies, and decisions inside bureaucracies affect politics. Politicians depend on different types of bureaucracies - ministries, agencies, local authorities - to prepare and implement public policies. Sometimes politicians deliberately seek to influence bureaucratic organizations, their personnel, and their decisions to their favour. They influence bureaucratic decisions through selecting personnel or structural reorganization, or they design bureaucracies in way that makes it difficult to pin down responsibility when something goes wrong. They may also seek to delegitimize and deconstruct bureaucracies. Yet political decisions may also have inadvertent consequences for how bureaucracies work, such as when bureaucracies need to implement ever more policies.

A different sort of politics takes place inside bureaucratic organizations. They are not simply following political directions, but they pursue distinct institutional interests. Like any other organization, bureaucracies strive for the continuous pursuit of their goals ("organizational survival"). This is much easier for organizations with a favourable reputation among relevant stakeholders such as politicians and interest groups. Policy bureaucracies such as ministries also influence political decisions more directly. They bring distinct professional perspectives into the policymaking process. Moreover, coordination inside policy bureaucracies is characterized by conflict and compromise and has a crucial role in shaping policy proposals developed by policy bureaucracies.

This course introduces students to multiple middle-range theories about the interrelation between politics and administration and the importance of bureaucracy for democratic governance more broadly. The course covers theoretical approaches and empirical applications of those theories.

The course is offered as an online-only course for students enrolled at Circle U. universities. It runs during five consecutive weeks of teaching with two lectures per week. Teachers are from the University of Oslo and from other Circle U. universities.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

After completing this course, you will:

• Have a solid understanding of the complex interrelations of politics and bureaucracy
• Know about different theoretical explanations for bureaucratic behaviour
• Be familiar with different empirical approaches to study the politics of bureaucracy

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Skills

After completing this course, you will:

• Have improved your academic writing skills
• Be able to identify and distinguish different types of political and bureaucratic behaviour
• Have improved your ability to critically evaluate academic texts

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Competences

After completing this course, you will know how to:

• Synthesize and compare theoretical arguments
• Critically evaluate different types of empirical evidence
• Provide empirical examples of theoretical arguments

Admission to the course

Admission to the course
The course is offered as an online-only course for students at University of Oslo¡¯s partner institutions in Circle U.
The course runs simultaneously with STV4422-The Politics of Bureaucracy Students enrolled in a master¡¯s program at University of Oslo can register for STV4422-The Politics of Bureaucracy

Admission requirements:
Enrolment in a master's program in political science or related disciplines at one of the partner universities in Circle U.

Application period:
December 1st,2024 to January 15th,2025.

Apply for admission

Recommended previous knowledge

Students should have a good understanding of fundamentals of public administration and/or public policy.?

Teaching

Ten online lectures in Zoom, two lectures per week for five weeks.

Mandatory activities:

• Submission of draft term paper before seminar session.
• Short presentation of term paper in seminar session.
• Discussion of draft term papers of other students in seminar session.

Examination

Term paper.

You must have passed the compulsory activities in order to hand in exam.?

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.