Public Policy and the Environment

This course introduces students to public policy theory and practice with an emphasis on international environmental topics. Using a variety of exercises, case studies, lectures, and assignments, students will learn answers to the following questions: What is public policy? Who makes it? What forms does it take? What issues does it address? How is it made? How do policies differ across contexts? What is “policy analysis” and how do I do it? As a half-semester, two-unit course, the goal is not to transform students into a political scientist but rather to deliver the foundational knowledge and skills needed to understand and work effectively within the policy arena.