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Negotiation of Public Policy Disputes

Code: 101108
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Political Science and Public Management OP 3
Political Science and Public Management OP 4
Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OP 3
Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Raquel Gallego Calderón
Email :
raquel.gallego@uab.cat

Teaching staff (external to UAB)

Luis Recuenco (UPF, UAB)

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

It is required to have passed the subject "Political Science" of the 1st year and "Administration and Public Policies" of the 2nd year. It is also necessary to read generalist newspapers and to have interest in the current political conflicts and negotiations. Finally, the kind of activities and evaluation of this subject makes essential the in person assistance to the majority of the sessions. Other ways of pursuing the subject are considered exceptional and should be previously agreed with the lecturer.

Objectives

Negotiation is a key element in the process of elaboration and management of public policy. The objective of this subject is to offer to students the theoretical and practical tools to understand and manage public controversies, and to introduce students in the negotiation theory and tecniques in the framework of public policy processes. 

The subject combines the theoretical and practical dimensions. During the course we will analyse public controversies and explore different ways to negotiate by means of simulations and practical cases, from the most simple to the most complex ones and combining the perspectives at the different levels of government. 

Learning outcomes

  1. Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.
  2. Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  3. Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  4. Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
  5. Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
  6. Using the main information and documentation techniques (ICT) as an essential tool for the analysis.
  7. Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  8. Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  9. Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  10. Working autonomously.
  11. Producing and planning researches or analytical reports.
  12. Properly explaining and describing main theoretical approaches of the analysis of political sciences: cycle of politics, actor-network, institutional approaches, rational choice theory.
  13. Distinguishing the phases of public politics: formulation, decision, implementation and evaluation.
  14. Critically analysing the configuration process of the public agenda.
  15. Suggesting and explaining a case study of a concrete public policy.
  16. Describing and understanding the functioning of the Public Administration on a state, sub-state and supranational level.
  17. Applying the knowledge of the Public Administrations on its various levels to practical and professional concrete cases.
  18. Demonstrating the understanding of intergovernmental relationships and identifying the position of Public Administrations in the political system.
  19. Describing and understanding the functioning of the Public Administration on a state, sub-state and supranational level.
  20. Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  21. Properly explaining and describing main theoretical approaches of the analysis of political sciences: cycle of politics, actor-network, institutional approaches, rational choice theory.
  22. Applying the discipline's main theories and different fields to real practical and professional problems.
  23. Develop critical thought and reasoning and be able to communicate them effectively, both in your own language and second or third languages.
  24. Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
  25. Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  26. Make changes to the methods and processes of the area of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and wishes of society.
  27. Assess the social, economic and environmental impact when acting in this field of knowledge.
  28. Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.

Contents

Lesson 1: Negotiation in public interventions


  • General framework.
  • Distributive negotiation and positions negotiation.
  • Negotiation based on principles. Harvard model of negotiation.


Lesson 2: Negotiation tecniques


  • Planification of a negotiation.
  • Formats, strategies and instruments during negotiation.


Lesson 3: Agents and power


  • Who participates and who influences in a negotiation.
  • Power in the negotiating table.


Lesson 4: Negotiation and participation


  • Negotiation and participation in public interventions.
  • Potentialities and limits of participation.


Lesson 5: Negotiation and mediation


  • Third parts in a negotiation process.
  • Mediation as an instrument of negotiation.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Texts reading: individual exercice of comprehensive text reading. 20 0.8
Study: Carrying out diagrams and summaries of theoretical contents. 30 1.2
Tutorial: individual and group tutorials for support for the accomplishment of the work and monitoring of the work done in the subject. 20 0.8
Theoretical lectures: explanations by the teacher with ICT support and debate in a large group. 20 0.8
Elaboration of the course paper and the seminar papers. 25 1
Public presentation of a paper: individual and group presentations and round of assessments. 5 0.2
Seminars for discussion of texts and cases: Introduction of the session, presentation of the text, assessment and discussion. Resolution of practical cases. Simulations. Reading controls. 5 0.2

The subject Negotiation of Public Interventions has 6 ECTS credits, that is, a total of 150 hours of dedication by the student (25 hours per credit). These hours are structured in the various types of training activities and teaching methodologies described below with the objective of combining a well-founded theoretical approach with practical exercises, to allow a direct approach to the reality of negotiations linked to the implementation of public policies. 

The theoretical foundations will be exposed in the sessions dedicated to theoretical lectures, that will be at all times open to the participation of students for clarification and debate. 

The fundamentals of the theory will be settled on the reading of texts and the autonomous study, both the material exposed in the classes and other materials that will be indicated in class or through the Virtual Campus. 

The study work will be complemented with seminars related to the readings and practical exercises in the classroom, from which a debate will be held between the students led by the lecturer. During the course there will be a total of 10 class practices that will be worked only orally in class and in some of them the student will be asked to do previous readings of preparation. All class practices will be evaluated based on oral contributions of the students in the session. It will be communicated through the Virtual Campus sufficiently in advance in which specific activities each class practice will consist andthe necessary preparation on the part of the students. 

The practical paper will consist of research on a real negotiation process chosen by the students. The work will be carried out in teams of 3 to 5 people, with the exceptions that can be considered for working or other kinds of reasons duly justified. 

On the days of oral presentations of papers, a round of questions will be made by the lecturer and thestudents. Finally, a debate will be opened on the set of topics addressed in the oral presentation. 

During the course, individual and group tutorials will be carried out for the accomplishment of the practical paper and on the follow-up of the course in the hours that will be previously fixed through the electronic mail at the request of the students as well as by indication of the teacher. 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Course paper 35% of the final grade 0.5 0.02 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
Oral participation in seminars 35% of the final grade 20.5 0.82 3, 7, 8, 15, 23
Final exam 30% of the final grade 4 0.16 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 17, 22

The evaluation of this subject is composed of the following evaluation activities:

- Final exam: 30% of the final grade.

- Oral participation in the seminars: 35% of the final grade.

- Course work: 35% of the final grade.

  • 10% of the final grade corresponds to the oral presentation and 25% to the written paper.

Important considerations

  • It is a necessary condition, but not enough, to pass the exam in order to pass the subject.
  • To pass the subject it is necessary to approve the seminars, such as the course work, such as the exam.
  • The dates of the seminars as well as the oral presentations of the course papers will be specified within the framework of the course programme through the Virtual Campus.
  • It is required to assist to the seminar sessions. Any absence due to labour or medical issue appropriately documented will not have any effect on the final mark. 
  • The exam will be at the end of the semester on the day and schedule set by the Faculty, which will be made public in sufficient time and that students will have to confirm through the Faculty website.
  • Students must notify the composition of the group and the subject chosen for the course paper through the teacher's email during the first two weeks of the semester. Otherwise, they will not be allowed to deliver it.
  • The fact of doing the exam or presenting the course paper or participating in at least 4 seminars exempts the student from the \"Not Presented\" qualification.
  • Students who have not passed the whole of the seminars or the course paper or both may submit a new individual written work, determined by the lecturer, to obtain the necessary grade to pass the assessment activities thatthey had failed. The lecturer will specify to the students in this situation the characteristics and date of delivery of the corresponding work.
  • Students who have not passed the exam will have the opportunity to take part in the compensation activities, that is to say, they will be able to re-test the failed exam on the day the Faculty determines, after the end of the second semester.
  • Any student who, due to justified work or health reasons or because he is performing an exchange programme, can not attend the course normally, must notify this situation to the lecturer during the first two weeks of the semester in order to agree on the corresponding compensatory activities. In case this notification occurs later without a justification, the student can not pass the subject.
  • In accordance with article 117.2 of the UAB academic regulations, the assessment of students from the second enrollment onwards may consist of a single synthesis test. Students wishing to take advantage of this possibility will need to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course.

  • Students who have taken advantage of the single assessment modality must take, on the one hand, a final test that will consist of a theory exam in which they must develop various topics and answer a series of short questions. On the other hand, they must take a practical test that will consist of two parts, first, the analysis of a negotiation and, second, a negotiation strategy proposal, both in relation to real cases that will be indicated in the text of the test. The student's grade will be the weighted average of the two previous activities (theoretical test and practical test), where the theory exam will account for 50% of the mark and the practical exam 50%. If the final mark does not reach 5, the student has another opportunity to pass the subject through the recovery exam that will be held on the date set by the coordination of the degree. 

Bibliography

This course does not have a required reference bibliography that students must read in order to follow the course. However, for the seminar sessions, students will be required to read certain texts that will be specified and made available by the lecturer through the Virtual Campus during the semester. These materials will be provided sufficiently in advance to allow students adequate time to read and work with them.

D'altra banda, per qui vulgui ampliar els seus coneixements sobre la teoria i tècniques de negociació i mediació, proposem la lectura de les següents publicacions:

Fisher, R. (1996). Más allá de Maquiavelo. Barcelona: Granica.

Fisher, R., Ury, W., Patton, B. (2011). Obtenga el Sí. El arte de negociar sin ceder. Barcelona: Ediciones Gestión 2000.

Lebel, P. (1990). El arte de la negociación. Barcelona: CEAC.

Mendieta, C. (2010). Tècniques de negociació i resolució de conflictes. Manual de Consulta. Barcelona: Diputació de Barcelona. Disponible a https://www1.diba.cat/llibreria/pdf/51553.pdf

Moore, C. (1995). El Proceso de Mediación. Buenos Aires: Granica.


Software

This subject does not require the use of any specific software.

Restricted use of AI: For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as literature or information searches, text proofreading, or translations. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools employed, and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity. Failure to disclose the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty in the activity grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed