Political and Administrative Systems

The course contributes to the general learning objectives of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in Management of Organizations and Work (MOL) by providing theoretical and analytical tools for understanding how political and administrative systems function and how they relate to organizations, work, public administration, and public policy.
The course is divided into two parts. The first introduces the main concepts of political science that are useful for analysing institutions, collective actors, and forms of political participation. The second focuses on the functioning of public administration and on the processes of public policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. While adopting a comparative perspective, the course pays particular attention to the Italian case, which is used to apply the concepts discussed to concrete examples concerning institutions and public administration.

By the end of the course, students will be able to describe and analyse, using the conceptual tools of political science, the functioning of political and administrative systems and the main processes involved in public policy-making. They will also be able to connect institutions, political and social actors, public administration, and policy-making, applying this knowledge to the critical analysis of concrete cases, with particular attention to the Italian system.