• Evaluate the key features of US policymaking processes and assess their relevance for firms and business organizations
• Identify, analyze and evaluate the relevant concepts and theories used in the study of US domestic and foreign policymaking
• Assess the changing character of economic policy thinking over recent decades and evaluate contemporary economic trends in both the US and across the world economy and their likely consequences for firms
• Analyze and evaluate the US’s changing position in world affairs and the global economy.
• Relate concepts and theories to empirical evidence
• Construct and sustain coherent and structured arguments in a well-reasoned manner using frameworks, approaches and methods drawn from the social sciences and based upon an understanding of competing perspectives.

The course is divided into three sections. First, it will consider the character of US policymaking processes and the openings that business interests can use to influence and shape policy outcomes. Students will also be introduced to different theoretical frameworks that are - or can be - employed. Second, there will be a focus on the different forms of economic policy such as "Reaganomics" that have been pursued from the 1970s nwards. Third, the course then turns to look at the US’s role in the world. The classes will consider the different actors involved in the making of foreign policy and the character of the US relationships with the countries of the European Union and other major powers. They will ask about the role of the US in sustaining the liberal international order and the extent to which Donald Trump’s years in office changed the US and its standing across the world. Has the US been weakened or strengthened?   Is the US being surpassed as global "hegemon"? And, insofar as there have been changes, are these likely to be temporary or enduring shifts? And what are the implications for Europe and Asia?

Nordic Nine: US Business, Politics, and the World Economy addresses the transformational capabilities specified in CBS’s Nordic Nine. In particular, the course seeks to place business knowledge within a broad context (N1), emphasizes analytical approaches to date and fosters curiosity about inherent ambiguities (N2), develops critical thinking and constructive forms of collaboration when working on tasks and projects (N6).

Richard Johnson (2021) US Foreign Policy: Domestic Roots and International Impact, Bristol University Press

B Guy Peters (2021) American Public Policy: Promise and Performance, 12th edition, CQ Press / Sage Publishing