Politics, Decisions and Risk (BYS200)

Content

The course gives the students an introduction to how risk is handled in political-organizational and societal contexts. The course places particular emphasis on presenting different perspectives on decision-making and how characteristics of decision-making processes can affect the management of risk.

The course also provides a presentation of political and administrative topics related to social security. Particular emphasis is placed on how historical and political conditions have contributed to influencing the authorities' understanding, prioritization and organization of social security work. The course also goes through central principles and dilemmas related to today's planning, coordination, regulation and safeguarding of risk and social security work. In conclusion, the course provides an introduction to how the rise of the welfare state and various insurance regimes can be understood in the light of a societal risk sharing perspective.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

After completing the course, students are expected to have knowledge of:

• different perspectives on decision-making, and what distinguishes these perspectives from each other.
• what is included in the authorities' risk and social security work
• what kind of historical guidelines, political choices and dilemmas underlie today's social security work
• different perspectives on planning, organization and participation in the authorities' risk and social security work
• what kind of role supervision and regulation have in the authorities' handling of risk and public safety.

Skills

After completing the course, students should be able to

• account for and apply different perspectives on organizational and socially rooted decision-making processes to situations involving risk and safety
• explain how different forms of participation, dialogue and interaction can contribute to security-related decision-making and planning processes
• account for central dilemmas in risk-related decision-making and planning processes
• account for political, institutional and regulatory conditions that affect the handling of risk and social security
• gives an account of how the concept of risk and security has historically formed part of national security policy thinking
• could express themselves in the form of concise written investigative analyzes related to social security-related decision-making processes

General competence:

After completing the course, students are expected to have general competence in:

• to understand and analyze decision-making, planning and participation processes in the public sector
• to understand how today's social security work is built up and taken care of by the authorities.
• to be able to discuss central challenges and dilemmas in the authority's organization and follow-up of social security and various risk challenges.

Required prerequisite knowledge

Exam

Coursework requirements

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator:

Head of Department:

Method of work

Open for

Course assessment

Literature