Department of Governance and Public Policy

Head of Department: Dr. Tamás Kaiser, associate professor

Governance is a comprehensive and multi-level action; hence, the study and description of such an action requires an overall approach, directed from the fields of several distinct disciplines. Besides the study of the level of central government, the dimensions of territorial and local governance, the specific working mechanisms of distinct public policies, as well as horizontal and ‘wicked’ issues have recently gained significant importance. The teaching and research activity of our Department cover these topics by relating to the disciplines of governance studies and public policy on the basis of inter- and multidisciplinary approach.

The aim and mission of our Department is to make, via a coordination of instruction, research, and the development of teaching materials, students acquainted with the basics of governance studies, theory of state, politics, public policy, sociology, and public finances, together with the related theoretical issues of social and legal studies. We believe that the cognition of the inherent system of state and governance is possible only in a domestic and international context of politics, jurisprudence, and society.

The courses delivered by the Department are, besides reflecting on some special issues, concerned with the basics and practical aspects of the above-mentioned disciplines. The Department’s teaching portfolio relates to all the Faculty’s BA and MA programmes; our colleagues teach at the Doctoral School of Public Administration Sciences and in other postgraduate and vocational training programmes of Ludovika-UPS.

The three main research pillars of the Department are governance and public policy, public finances, and state and legal theory. Its main sub-fields consist of the theory of state and theory of governance, territorial and digital aspects of multi-level governance, cross-border coordination, social movements, financial and fiscal governance, culture of public finances and system of taxation, reforms on public management, foreign and domestic effects of Brexit, potential theoretical considerations on human rights, and deconstruction of the legal system.

The Department facilitates the Scientific Students’ Association of State and Social Studies. Students associated with this intellectual workshop participated successfully in the institutional and domestic contests. Moreover, the Department has an institutional connection with the so-called Ostrakon College for Advanced Studies, operating in the Faculty’s framework, where several faculty members delivered lectures, held courses, and participated in several events.

Contact:

Office: H-1083 Budapest, Üllői út 82., Educational Centre, Office 433.
Phone: +36 1 432 9000 / 20723
E-mail: Kaiser.Tamas@uni-nke.hu