Course Details in 2024/25 Session

Module Title	LI Governing States and Societies
School	Government
Department	International Development
Module Code	08 34589
Module Lead	Jonathan Fisher
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	Weak or failing governance is often at the heart of a range of contemporary development challenges. This module critically evaluates different approaches to improving governance. Governance is understood as a set of formal and informal rules for how states function and how state-society relations are managed. The first part of the module will analyse how some governance dynamics – including corruption, weak accountability relations, lack of co-ordination in the state administration, and contestation between state and non-state actors – can hinder progress on inclusive development. The second part will introduce a range of tools and methods widely used to improve governance, including citizen voice and participation, social accountability, changing public sector incentives, and state reform. Weekly lectures are complemented with participatory weekly seminars, giving students the opportunity to apply a governance lens to key recurring constraints to development, and debate the strengths and limitations of a range of top-down and bottom-up approaches to addressing them.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Summarise the latest thinking on, and key concepts in, governance and state-society relations. Describe and critique key tools for, and approaches to, tackling governance and accountability challenges. Explain the links between the global politics of development and the domestic governance of developing countries. Analyse the governance challenges facing a diverse range of countries.
Assessment	34589-01 : 2000 Word Assessment : Coursework (50%) 34589-02 : Online Exam : Exam (School Arranged) - Computer-based (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1,500 word written assignment (Mid-term; 50%) 1,500 word written assignment (Final; 50%) Reassessment: By failed component
Other
Reading List