The Ethics of Public Policy: Why it matters

The conference is compulsory for M1 students in the Politics and Public Policy stream (EAP) and open to any Sciences Po student, teacher or staff interested in the topic.

About the conference

In the day-to-day challenges of policy analysis and policy making, fundamental ethical questions find themselves often subordinated to the fast-moving demands of politics, the question of what is the right thing to do is rarely asked explicitly. The ethics of public policy, however, is fundamental, providing a benchmark, a compass for policy making. This seminar asks how ethics and public policy are connected, and makes the case that the ethical perspective should never be discounted. How can we make public policies that follows ethical standards, indeed, that do the right thing?

To discuss these topics, the students of the Politics and Public Policy Policy stream of the Schoolf of Public Affairs invited Prof. Annabelle Lever, Professor at Sciences Po and researcher at CEVIPOF, and Prof. Jonathan Wolff, Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy at the University of Oxford, both specialists in the intersection of philosophy and public policy. During the seminar, they will share their valuable knowledge on this topic and discuss it with the audience.

Organised in the framework of the Politics and Public Policy Stream of the School of Public Affairs, the Policy seminar aims to shed expert light on current issues by combining approaches and points of view. The objective of the sessions is to provide the audience with new ways to look at challenges that societies are facing today.