Political Aspects of Public Administration

2022/2023

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

1 year, 3 module

Instructors

Кандауров Данил Михайлович

Коробкин Егор Николаевич

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course looks at the phenomenon of public administration from the political perspective. Students will study how politics and public administration relate, how political power and public administration are interconnected, what features of the development of public administration and politics are inherent in different countries.

Learning Objectives

• To introduce students to universal approaches that allow analyzing public administration systems in different countries of the world;
• To introduce students to the main elements of the public administration system in Russia and its key features.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• considers the processes and final results of the work of public authorities from the point of view of the concepts of political science
• understands how the theories of public administration (Rational Bureaucracy, New Public Management and Good Governance) are implemented in practice
• knows how the system of public administration in Russia functions
• is familiar with public administration studies in political science

Course Contents

• 1. Introduction: Contemporary Public Administration in Russia
• 2. Forms of Government and Public Administration
• 3. Theories of Public Management and Practice
• 4. World Trends and International Organizations
• 5. Accountability, People and Policy Cycles
• 6. The Federal Assembly and Interest Groups in the Process of Policymaking
• 7. Reforms
• 8. Federalism and decentralization
• 9. Budget Process and Financial Control
• 10. Non-Majoritarian Institutions
• 11. Future Vision of the Public Administration

Assessment Elements

• Seminar tests, average score
  Each seminar, excluding the first one, will begin with a 10-minute written test that covers the readings and issues discussed at the previous seminar.
• Group presentation
  Each seminar, excluding the first and the last ones, will also feature a group presentation - so, there will be 9 presentations in total. The students should form groups and select their topics beforehand. The list of topics is as follows: Healthcare policy; Education policy; Science, research and technological development; Social sphere (pensions, labor protection, etc.); Financial and monetary policy; Economic development and business support; Energy and natural resources; Transport and communication; National defense and state security. The topic from this list is an indication of a policy area that the students will need to review. The presentation is, in essence, an overview of this policy area in Russia and analytical evaluation of various elements of its governance. The presentation should cover the following issues: The institutions responsible for managing this policy area in Russia (ministries or federal agencies) Their history since 1993 (briefly) The scheme of their organizational structure (traced through all levels of organizational hierarchy, e. g. in case of healthcare - from the level of individual state-owned clinics up to the level of Ministry of Healthcare) Non-governmental actors and their role, if present The ‘workflow’ of governance in that policy area (what operational culture there is, what principles and objectives are declared by the institutions, etc.) The economic and political background of this policy area Strengths and weaknesses of the whole governance apparatus of this policy area Possibilities for improvement The presentation is to last no more than 20 minutes, with 10 additional minutes reserved for the questions from the audience.
• Final test
  The final test will be conducted in the form of a remote, open-book test some time after the final seminar of the course. The test will feature both multiple-choice and open-ended questions, covering the material of both lectures and seminars.
• Exam
  The exam will not be mandatory. If any student has a grade over 4 with the “no exam” formula, they can choose not to come to the exam, and their grade in accordance with that formula will be their final grade. In case they choose to come, the “with exam” formula will be applied instead. The exam will be conducted in the form of an offline written test. It will feature both multiple-choice and open-ended questions, covering the material of both lectures and seminars.

Interim Assessment

• 2022/2023 3rd module
  The formulas: Without the exam: 0,33 * seminar tests + 0,33 * presentation + 0,34 * final test With the exam: 0,25 * seminar tests + 0,25 * presentation + 0,25 * final test + 0,25 * exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Priests of prosperity : how central bankers transformed the postcommunist world, Johnson, J., 2016
• Sharafutdinova, G., Sharafutdinova, G 2010, ’ Subnational Governance in Russia : How Putin Changed the Contract with His Agents and the Problems It Created for Medvedev ’ PUBLIUS, vol 40, no. 4, & N/A. (2010). Subnational Governance in Russia:How Putin Changed the Contract with His Agents and the Problems It Created for Medvedev. Sharafutdinova , G 2010 , ’ Subnational Governance in Russia : How Putin Changed the Contract with His Agents and the Problems It Created for Medvedev ’ PUBLIUS , Vol 40 , No. 4 , N/A , Pp. 672-696 . DOI:10.1093/Publius/Pjp036. https://doi.org/10.1093/publius/pjp036
• Starodubtsev, A. (2016). Federalism and Regional Policy in Contemporary Russia. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1689345
• The Oxford handbook of public management, , 2005
• Thomas Remington. (2008). Patronage and the Party of Power: President–Parliament Relations Under Vladimir Putin. Europe-Asia Studies, (6), 959. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668130802161215
• ГЕЛЬМАН В.Я., & СТАРОДУБЦЕВ А.В. (2014). Возможности и ограничения авторитарной модернизации: российские реформы 2000-х годов. Журнал Политической Философии и Социологии Политики «Полития. Анализ. Хроника. Прогноз», (4 (75)). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsclk&AN=edsclk.16383109
• Траектория уголовного дела : институциональный анализ, Панеях, Э. Л., 2018

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Чирикова, А. Е. Власть в малом российском городе : монография / А. Е. Чирикова, В. Г. Ледяев. — Москва : Высшая школа экономики, 2017. — 414 с. — ISBN 978-5-7598-1579-2. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/173423 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.