European Summer School in Policy Analysis

The specific aims of the European Summer School in Policy Analysis are twofold. First, the curriculum restores the original connection between the analysis of public policy and our understanding of the democratic organization of society; as expressed in Harold Lasswell`s famous phrase: “ a policy analysis of democracy”. Second, the curriculum aims to go beyond the a-theoretical, empiricist orientation of traditional policy analysis. Traditional policy analysis has largely ignored the important theoretical and methodological developments that have taken place in the social sciences more generally. We are aware that an understanding of the theoretical and epistemological foundations of policy analysis is essential for understanding the kind of knowledge policy analysis generates and the role it plays, or should play, in society. Knowledge plays an important role in the policy process – a point acknowledged by different approaches to political science and international relations; thus, the group encourages research on language, policy narratives, interpretation, paradigms, frames, discourse and practices, that are essential for the shaping of public policies. In summary form, the kind of policy analysis developed in ESSPA rests on three pillars: it is methodologically eclectic, pragmatic, and deliberative.

To sum up: the purpose of ESSPA is to provide students with the concepts and techniques of a policy analysis that is socially relevant, theoretically astute, as well as attuned to the democratic needs of contemporary liberal society.

General Aims «

last update 2008-02-20