A Comparative Study of Education in Governance Studies: Case Studies of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Oxford

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faculty Member, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

  Public Law constitutes the legal framework governing “governance” and possesses three characteristics: “regulatory,” “normative,” and “glocal.” The orderly regulation of social relations requires an understanding of those relations, an understanding that cannot be attained within disciplinary confines or through the study of legal norms alone. Legal prescriptions and prohibitions are rooted, on the one hand, in the traditions of societies and, on the other, are shaped in response to the exigencies of the modern age. Yet neither “tradition” nor “modernity” can be adequately understood within the closed framework of a single academic discipline. On this basis, a meaningful network of concepts and theories emerges at the intersection of “law,” “management,” and “politics,” bringing the educational fields associated with these disciplines into closer interaction and giving rise to interdisciplinary governance studies. Accordingly, adopting an interdisciplinary approach and employing comparative analysis, this study seeks to describe the educational programmes of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Oxford, representing the Ivy League and Oxbridge traditions, and to derive criteria for comparatively explaining how governance studies are developed and delivered. The findings indicate that an appropriate model for governance education rests on three approaches. The first is an interdisciplinary approach, within which legislation is understood from a social perspective and seeks to balance competing forces within society. The second is a problem-oriented approach, within which theory is context-grounded and emerges from evidence derived from society, taking shape in a social setting and in response to one or more problems. The third is an empirical and evidence-based approach, in which “governance studies” are founded upon a systematic understanding of “reality” and seek to explain how law becomes socially embedded and how governance may operate effectively.

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References

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Journal of Comparative Public Law
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10
September 2026
Pages 179-203

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