Giliberto CAPANO (University of Bologna, Italy)

Giliberto CAPANO is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Bologna, where he was Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences.  He is one of the editors of the prestigious and highly-ranked journal Policy & Society. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Political Science Association (2009-2014) and of the Executive Committee of the European Consortium of Political Research (2018-2024). In 2014, he was one of the 12 founders of the International Public Policy Association, of which he is still a member of the Executive Committee. He specialises in public administration and public policy. His research focuses on governance dynamics and performance in higher education and education; policy design and policy change; the impact and performance of policy instruments; the social role and impact of political science and public policy; crisis governance; policy capacities and policy making. He has (co-)authored eleven monographs and (co-)edited eighteen books; his work has been published in the leading international journals of public policy and public administration, and he is ranked in the top 2% of the world's most impactful scholars by the Stanford Ranking. He has acted as a consultant and reviewer for various Italian public administrations and has taught executive courses for the National Schools of Public Administration of various countries, such as Italy, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Italy.

Course: Crises Unlocked: Navigating between Policy and Political Dimensions

Crises are moments of profound disruption that unsettle political orders, destabilise institutional arrangements and test the resilience of policy systems. Characterised by urgency, ambiguity, uncertainty and high stakes, they see established routines suspended and decision-makers compelled to act under conditions of radical uncertainty. Although crises are often perceived as threats, they also serve as revealing moments that expose structural vulnerabilities and latent tensions. They can stimulate policy innovation and institutional adaptation, but they also pose risks of politicisation, contestation and failure. To grasp their full significance, crises must be approached as both policy challenges and political events.

This course, 'Crises Unlocked: Navigating Between Policy and Political Dimensions', offers a multidisciplinary exploration of crisis governance. Drawing on insights from political science, public administration, sociology, and organisational studies, it primarily grounds its analytical foundations in public policy and crisis management scholarship. Particular attention will be devoted to the interplay between policy design, institutional robustness and political leadership, highlighting how crises shape — and are shaped by — the institutional and political environments in which they occur.

Morning sessions will combine conceptual lectures with case-based discussions. They will address fundamental questions, including:

• • • Conceptualisation: How do crises differ from other types of policy problems, and which analytical frameworks allow us to capture their specificity?
    • Crisis-to-change mechanisms: Through which mechanisms can crises open windows of opportunity for policy change, institutional reform or political realignment, or act as stabilisers that freeze the current political situation and policy dynamics?
    • Leadership and decision-making: How do political leaders, administrators and experts navigate decision-making processes in situations of ambiguity, urgency and uncertainty?
    • Institutional robustness: What explains variations in institutional capacity and robustness across levels of government, policy sectors and political systems when dealing with crises?
    • Democratic legitimacy: In what ways do crises change the relationship between citizens, experts, and political authorities, particularly in terms of trust, blame, and accountability?

While the morning programme builds theoretical and empirical knowledge, the afternoon sessions focus on strengthening students’ analytical skills. Participants will either:

• • • present their own research projects related to crisis governance and policy dynamics and receive feedback on how to refine their analytical approaches, or

• • • work in groups on applied analytical exercises, systematically examining crisis cases through the conceptual and methodological lenses introduced in the lectures.

These activities are structured to cultivate research-oriented analytical skills rather than simulate operational crisis management. The course is therefore best understood as an interdisciplinary academic training programme that prepares students to analyse crises rigorously and situate their own research within broader theoretical debates.

By combining conceptual reflection with research-based training, the course enables students to engage critically with crises as complex political and policy phenomena. Participants will deepen their understanding of crises as disruptive events and strengthen their ability to:

• • • Apply public policy and crisis management frameworks to diverse empirical contexts.
    • Engage in comparative and multidisciplinary analysis.
    • Contribute to scholarly and professional debates on crisis governance and institutional robustness, and help to shape the future of these vital areas.

Ultimately, the course aims to cultivate participants' capacity to interrogate crises not merely as singular shocks, but as transformative junctures that redefine the robustness of institutions and the trajectories of public policy.