Decision-Making in Transnational Governance: Understanding Complexity (STG-MA-M7-DMT23)

STG-MA-M7-DMT23

Description

The world faces unparalleled challenges. We live in turbulent times, characterized by exogenous shocks and fast-paced innovation. The interconnectivity and complexity of policy issues increases, uncertainty abounds. In short, we are in the era of wicked problems (Alford and Heard 2017). Such problems are characterized by a lack of theorized approaches to be used to solve them with some degree of predictability. Decision-making in contemporary transnational governance is therefore more and more a matter of dealing with high level of interconnected relations that require innovative, holistic, and plural models of decision making and policy responses. 

This statecraft seminar will guide students through the complexity of transnational governance by giving the possibility to investigate and reflect on real small to medium scale transnational decision-making cases. Students will be asked to uncover the complexity of real-world governance issues based on the literature, best practices, and practical knowledge deployment. At the heart of this compelling challenge lies the methodology of problem-based learning. This methodology uses case studies to effectively develop ‘real-world’ thinking while dealing with complexity in policymaking. The very point of using case studies in transnational decision-making is to create an environment in which dilemmas are explored and viable solutions uncovered. Students will be asked to engage with original case studies and to come up with solutions to transnational decision-making problems.  
 
With this seminar students will be prepared to face complex problems, will engage with experimental learning techniques, and will develop holistic approaches to come to grips with complex transnational governance challenges.