Policy Process Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This chapter provides a policy-based reading of the drivers, processes, and long-term ramifications of the outsourcing of military support services that has thus far been all but absent from the literature. Military support services represent the vast majority of contracts let by the military, so that the findings arrived at here are seen to be representative for the broader issue of military contractorisation. Focusing on the USA and the UK, the chapter will 1) identify the structural, contextual factors that frame defence services acquisition, 2) map the defence services acquisition “policy network”, and 3) identify a systemic bias towards contractorisation. Based on these findings, the chapter will 4) conclude with an outlook over the future of military contractorisation within the political context identified earlier.

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- Policy Analysis and Decision Making, Outsourcing, Policy Networks, Policy Process

Since public sector reform initiatives, public accountability and transparency have advanced democracy and good governance on managing state finances. State financial management mechanism involves regional policies and fiscal decentralization trend in the devolution of responsibility for empowerment from central to local units of governments, but the governance face challenges to effectively manage and control the use of public funds that best meet citizen’s needs. This study determines the effect of public accountability and transparency on the management of state finances in Indonesia, as well as the extent to which public accountability and transparency affect the management of state finances. Based on a descriptive quantitative case-oriented research approach, 60 survey interviews are collected and analyzed with multiple linear regression analysis techniques. This study concludes that Public Accountability partially has a significant effect on the Financial Management Mechanism. On the other hand, partially public transparency has no significant effect on the State Financial Management Mechanism. Cumulatively, some aspects of Public Accountability and Transparency have a significant effect on the State Financial Management Mechanism. If unaccountability in decentralise administrative model prevails, the problem of ineffective policy output may persist to impair sustainable finance and public values for good governance in times of covid-19 crisis-related society

The main aim of the article is to present Polish readers with the most important information concerning one of the newer theories of the public policy process-the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF). The NPF assumes that public policy narratives play a fundamental role in the public policy process. These are strategically constructed stories about the causes and solutions to problems in public policy. Actors use narratives to achieve their goals, such as implementing policies that are closest to their preferences. On the example of the government program "Good Start", the article presents practical applications of NPF at the micro-, meso-and macro-levels.

- by Natalia Jungrav-Gieorgica
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- Policy Process, Narrative Policy Framework, Public Policy

Sweden’s Art and Music Schools offer courses and activities after the school day. Besides that, Art and Music Schools also work in collaboration with compulsory schools, including training schools and special schools. The investigation report on Art and Music Schools, part of the national policy process, focuses on the ‘after school’ parts of Art and Music Schools, leaving the other parts untouched, as the investigation considers that the voluntary after school activities/programs constitute the core of Art and Music Schools. The present paper focuses on how Art and Music Schools work in collaboration with compulsory schools, as a way to include all children, and departs from the troubling information provided by extant research that confirms that the dominant Art and Music School discourse is sharply separated from a compulsory school discourse.Discourse analysis, discursive psychology and educational policy theory will constitute the theoretical framework. Specifically, the paper ...

- by Adriana Di Lorenzo Tillborg
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- Sociology, Music Education, Policy Process, Educational Policy

This paper examines the notion that ‘All models of the policy process necessarily misrepresent complex realities’, seeking to establish where the value of models lies if this is true. Parsons (1996, p.58) describes a model as creating order out of that which does not in itself have an objective order. I distinguish between two models of the decision-making process to illuminate where value lies: the ‘Stages’ model and the ‘Incremental’ branch model. I argue firstly that stages offer order and make sense of complexity through a linear approach to policymaking, but that conversely, the real world is not a blank slate ordered in neat stages, hence it misrepresents reality, as policy stages are inseparable. Secondly, I outline how Stages infer logic through division of labour and use of a feedback loop but that alternatively, Stages can be irrational in that dividing stages gives a false picture of the process, which is descriptive but not explicative. Thirdly, I assess the value of Incrementalism’s ‘Muddling Through’ approach to address gaps left by the Stages model, explaining how it allows for small policy changes and makes policy options manageable. Thereafter, I present Lindblom’s rejection of rationality in favour of negotiation, before acknowledging that his emphasis on consensus neglects innovation. I conclude that comparing these models reveals that each is more suitable to specific realities, henceforth different realities warrant different models. This is summarised by John’s notion that ‘it is not necessarily the case that models misrepresent reality, but there is a seemingly impossible list of requirements that successful models must have’ (2003, p.482). Models are flawed in respect of any reality – but they are essential to comprehending the policymaking process.

- by Katrina Lavender
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- Policy modeling, Policy Process, Policy Making Processes, Policy Modelling

Nearly 10 years after swearing indefatigable commitment to an agenda for a socioeconomic and political reordering intended to quicken the pace of progress and individual prosperity through the use of rapid, robust, inclusive and best practices, things seem not to fall within the average limit of precision or accuracy poised by the Government of Liberia. The input-output promise of most of the government’s policies is moving too slow towards convergence hence widening the output-outcome gap. What are the factors impeding the government’s zealous “speed”? What is responsible for the gap between the “well written policy documents” and the actual pictures on the faces of the people? In search of answers, the study amalgamated the instrumental case study and a consecutive non-probability sample survey of 40 public sector managers across Anglo-phone West Africa. Both findings validate two main reasons for the gap: (a) the lack of, or in some cases, the refusal to engender sufficient data to inform policy formulation and (b) the inundating subsistence of the “policy paradox” in making policy decisions. The paper recommends evidence-based policy making process which blends scientific research (theory), program management experience (‘practice’), and political judgment (politics) in planning and design, training and competency maintenance, formulation and implementation of public policy.
Key Words: Evidence-based-Policy, Public Policy, Policy Process, Policy input, output & outcome, Strategy

- by Benjamin Wehye
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- Policy Process, Strategy, Evidence-based Policymaking, Public Policy

“We must recognise that government functionaries and other political participants deal at any given time with limited problems, within limited perspectives, and have to make due with limited analytical capabilities” (Lindblom, 1959, 128). This quote excellently sums up the erratic, subjective nature of the public policy process. Contemporary society has seen a rise in issues worthy of political action. This essay asks why some issues get included in the political agenda, while others do not. To explore this, the paper examines three dimensions, although it is prudent to acknowledge now that these are not definitive boundaries – there are many other dimensions involved. The first, and main focus is on constructing social problems, since in order for an issue to get on the agenda, it must be constructed as a social problem. The second dimension is centred on language, of which its value-laden quality is instrumental to this topic. Finally, the role of media in drawing attention to issues is also explored, as it is a means of attracting attention to issues. This paper ultimately aims to provide clarity on why every issue does not make it to the table by examining the mentioned dimensions. The conclusion is that the capacity to encompass every single issue within the agenda simply does not exist, but that actors utilise an array of methods to increase the visibility of issues in attempts to get particular issues included.

- by Katrina Lavender
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- Political Economy, Policy Process, Policy Making Processes, Agenda Setting
- by noritada matsuda
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- Policy theory, Policy Process, Advocacy Coalition Framework, Stephen Toulmin
- by Alicor Panao
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- Public Policy Analysis, Policy Process, Public Policy

El presente documento tiene por finalidad presentar un esbozo sobre el desarrollo teórico en políticas públicas (policy theory) y en las teorías sobre el cambio político (policy-change theory), identificando las tendencias actuales, así... more

- by Cesar Nicandro Cruz-Rubio
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- Policy-change theory, Policy Process, Public Policy

Based on policy change literature and in an improved version of D. Beetham's (1991) model for legitimacy (Alagappa, 1994), I propose here an approach for the study of policy stability & change (called legitimation & policy dynamics). Oriented to explain policy change in political systems defined by its institutional fragility and persistent legitimacy deficits, LPD is an actor-centered perspective, in which legitimation of power through policy is assumed as an unavoidable task, and conforms as a causal-driver useful in explaining policy stability and change. LPD assumes that policy change can take two forms: as a reactive way or as a proactive logic. In both of these forms the actors of the dominant coalition will seek to maintain an active presence (and increase own’s influence and control capabilities if possible) over policy and its change processes. Institutionally conditioned, these actors may assume four differentiated operational positions (shock response, strategic improvement-based, thermostatic and change-contention) and in doing so they also configure narratives and send clear messages that influence all actor expectations during change process. The “legitimacy pattern” associated with a given policy design favors periods of stability based on perpetuation, the logic of adaptation and incremental changes or planned and long-time based processes of policy change. Focusing events, external shocks, innovation and diffusion processes, or endogenous dynamics are all forces that influence the policy subsystem and may lead to distortions (based on unconformity with rules, discrepancy with shared beliefs, withdrawal of consent or an inadequate policy performance) in the legitimacy pattern. Those distortions may force changes in the dominant coalition and in public policy, but it is only with a transformation of the legitimacy pattern when a major policy change occurs. Preliminary hypotheses are here proposed.

- by Cesar Nicandro Cruz-Rubio
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- Policy Process, Policy Change, Legitimation

""""The higher education (HE) subsystem in Ethiopia has passed through a series of policy reforms in the last 10 years. Key reform areas ranged from improving quality and relevance of programmes to promoting equality in access to and... more

- by Tebeje Molla
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- Higher Education, Gender, Ethiopia, Policy Process

This research seeks to address the question of when and why the state in India responds to women’s claims making by foregrounding the mobilisations of women’s groups on two issues: anti-rape laws and domestic work. In particular, it analyses the relationship between women’s claims making and laws and policies, especially focusing on the issues around which mobilisations take place, the processes and strategies of claims making by women’s groups, and the processes through which the changes in laws and policies occur. The research addresses these concerns at both a national level, as well as two subnational levels, Gujarat and Karnataka. It also compares the differences and similarities in mobilisations, structural configurations, actors and coalitions between the two issue areas, and across the levels (national and subnational).
The research draws on Mala Htun and Laura Weldon’s framework for analysing gender-egalitarian policy change as well as Nancy Fraser’s analysis of needs interpretation, multiple publics and representation (Htun and Weldon 2007, 2010; Fraser 1989, 2009). It is a qualitative research study drawing on 62 interviews with key actors at both national and subnational levels, and an extensive resource of secondary material, which is particularly abundant on anti-rape mobilisations in India.
The report argues that state responses to women’s claims making provide a complex and variegated picture of a non-linear, slow, sporadic and contingent process of policy change, with iterations and reiterations by women’s groups met over a period of time by non-responses, intermittent gains, reversals and wars of attrition by the state. Domestic worker mobilisations have not had as long and consolidated a history as anti-rape mobilisations, which is reflected in the nature of state responses—with policy change and law reform in domestic work remaining sporadic and scattered, whereas there have been widespread reforms in anti-rape laws, albeit with as many reversals as gains. Apart from mobilisations by groups on issues, which have been a key factor for policy change, other factors such as champions in government, mass demonstrations and protests, the openness (or lack thereof) of the policy process, strength of networks are some of the other factors that determine when and why states respond to women’s claims making.

- by Shraddha Chigateri and +1
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- Gender Studies, Feminist Theory, Gender History, Gender and Sexuality
- by Michael K McLendon
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- Higher Education, Government, Political Science, Legislative Politics

In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic study of policy processes and the many practices of professional and not-so-professional policy work. We argue, first, that the " toolkit " of academically warranted approaches to the policy process used in the representative mode may be ordered in a family tree with three major branches: policy as reasoned authoritative choice, policy as association in policy networks, and policy as problematization and joint meaning making. But, and this is our second argument, such approaches are not just representations to reflect and understand " reality ". They are also mental maps and discursive vehicles for shaping and sometimes changing policy practices. In other words, they also serve performative functions. The purpose of this article is to contribute to policy theorists' and policy workers' awareness of these often tacit and " underground " selective affinities between the representative and performative roles of policy process theorizing.

- by Hal Colebatch and +1
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- Performance, Policy Process, Public Policy
- by Dr. Bishnu Prasad Mohapatra
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- Politics, Decentralization, Policy Process, India

What is the state of the research on crowdsourcing for policymaking? This article begins to answer this question by collecting, categorizing, and situating an extensive body of the extant research investigating policy crowdsourcing, within a new framework built on fundamental typologies from each field. We first define seven universal characteristics of the three general crowdsourcing techniques (virtual labor markets, tournament crowdsourcing, open collaboration), to examine the relative trade-offs of each modality. We then compare these three types of crowdsourcing to the different stages of the policy cycle, in order to situate the literature spanning both domains. We finally discuss research trends in crowdsourcing for public policy and highlight the research gaps and overlaps in the literature.

- by Araz 𝖳aeihagh
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- Business, Information Systems, Business Administration, Information Science

Making sense of the Chinese policy process has been one of the most challenging endeavors for China scholars since the beginning of ‘reform and opening up’. Although a great deal of empirical knowledge has been gathered over the years on policy-making and implementation in many different fields, theorizing on the Chinese policy process has mostly been concerned with individual policy instruments or various modes of policy-making so far instead of looking at how these are interconnected. In this article, we propose ‘political steering theory’ as an integrative theoretical framework to fill in this gap. Originating from policy research conducted by German social scientists starting in the 1970s, we consider ‘political steering theory’ to be the most appropriate approach to the Chinese case, particularly in the current era of ‘top-level design’ led by Xi Jinping. We demonstrate how China recently recalibrated its political steering approach and propose new directions for research into the Chinese policy process under the current administration.

- by Björn Alpermann
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- Political Theory, Chinese Studies, Chinese Politics, Policy Process

Public policies affect all of us, regardless of who we are or where we live. The study of public policymaking necessarily entails the study of the entire political system and to this end, researchers employ a multitude of frameworks, theories, and models, which tend to be complementary rather than mutually exclusive. The focus of this dissertation is on political entrepreneurship as an actor-based framework to examine and understand policy change. The dissertation’s main aim is to conceptually enhance entrepreneurship and the entrepreneur in the polis by leveraging them in the Swedish political context. In this research, political entrepreneurship and the political entrepreneur are examined in the background of the Swedish corporatist policymaking system with its consensual sensibilities. The five (two theoretical and three empirical) papers as well as the cover essay comprising this dissertation attempt to answer the following questions: first, how do contextual factors inform the realization of entrepreneurial agency? Second, how do contextual factors inform the strategies entrepreneurial actors use to affect change? Third, what is the role of political entrepreneurship and the political entrepreneur in macro-level theories such as critical junctures and policy transfer? Contextual factors here are understood to be the general political system; the level of governance; the substantive policy sector, and the stage of the policy process. Predominantly qualitative methods and a variety of analytical tools, ranging from formal social network analysis (SNA) to process tracing are used to investigate the research questions in the national, regional, and local levels of governance and in the fields of crisis management, risk governance, and economic development respectively. Findings suggest that overwhelmingly, political entrepreneurs come from the ranks of public officials and thus political entrepreneurship is a feature of the policy implementation stage rather than the agenda setting stage of policymaking. There is not a place for the outsider, single issue entrepreneur in the Swedish consensual system, which provides for extensive inclusion, but of actors organized in interest groups. Political entrepreneurs are action-oriented, problem solving doers, characterized by perseverance and resourcefulness and are key in consolidating policy change in the aftermath of a crisis. Though in broad terms the strategies political entrepreneurs use in the Swedish context are concomitant with the ones used in pluralistic contexts, specificities diverge. In the Swedish corporatist consensual system, political entrepreneurship becomes a conduit facilitating interconnections among a multitude of actors; opens up additional channels of communication, while the political entrepreneur is a network maker. Finally, political entrepreneurship is focused on forging a consensus rather than winning the competition: the art of quiet cooperation and collaboration.

- by Evangelia Petridou
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- Public Administration, Crisis Management, Policy Process, Sweden

[Postprint - forthcoming in 2022] Scholarship on local governance in China in general, and on the Chinese policy process in particular, has expanded remarkably over the last four decades. Where earlier studies were mostly interested in grasping the dynamics of central-local relations, over the course of time, more specific features, like performance evaluation systems or policy implementation processes, came under scholarly scrutiny. New theoretical concepts were introduced to explain phenomena pertaining to local governance and this research became ever more specialized. In this state-of-the art review, we trace the trajectories of research on the Chinese policy process in the reform era in two distinct periods, before and after the inauguration of current CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping. By drawing on prominent theoretical and conceptual approaches to understanding and assessing the Chinese policy process in these two periods, we highlight the changes and continuities that Xi's 'top-level design' has brought about in local policymaking. Although most recent studies indicate increasing top-down centralization in the Chinese local state, it seems that the basic institutional prerequisites of the policy process have hardly been altered. Therefore, most of the older conceptual characterizations of local policymaking still very much hold water. Yet, we do conclude by pointing to some so far understudied aspects of local policy-making in China.

- by Anna Lisa Ahlers
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- China, Policy Process, Literature Review, Systematic Reviews

Over two and a half million miles of pipeline cross the United States today, half of which is over fifty years old and thus was designed, located, and debated without today’s modern environmental policies in place. Aging pipeline infrastructure, such as the (infamous in Michigan) Enbridge Line 5 pipeline underwater crossing at Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac, has undergone increased public scrutiny and risk analysis this past decade. This has led to the potential for policy changes in the historically stable energy services institution associated with pipeline infrastructure regulation. While policy process literature generally describes how policy changes over time, it is missing research on how new goals and new technology, such as energy justice and social media, impact agenda setting and decisions when added to the policy mix. This dissertation first investigates the evolving federal pipeline regime policy goals through an advanced policy mix analysis. Next, it argues that energy justice research can be advanced through deterministic approaches and analyses. Last, this dissertation uses a social network analysis to explain why aging pipelines are on today’s policy agenda through. By understanding how the pipeline policy mix has changed over time, including through the addition of modern topics such as energy justice and modern technologies such as social media, policy and decision makers can improve prioritization of risk analysis for aging pipeline infrastructure.

Although the theory of punctuated equilibrium is one of the most widely cited theories in policy studies, most of the research has paid relatively little attention to the conditions under which a policy punctuation is likely to occur. In this study, we argue that one of the likely causes of a policy punctuation is cultural friction. Such friction occurs between two opposing forces: the force directed at amplifying the demand for policymaking that is expected to introduce a new cultural value, and the ‘retarding’ or slowing force, which is a pre-existing cultural value deeply rooted in a society that blocks the policymaking. Cultural friction makes it harder for policymakers to change policy even where there is increasing demand, but may eventually generate a larger change to make up for past inattention to the issue. We support our argument with evidence of the recent large-scale change in multicultural policy in Korea.

Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
Shisha smoking is a widespread custom in Iran with a rapidly growing prevalence especially among the youth. In this article, we analyze the policy process of enforcing a federal/state ban on shisha smoking in all public places in Kerman Province, Iran. Guided by the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), we investigate how a shisha smoking ban reached the political agenda in 2011, how it was framed by different policy actors, and why no significant breakthrough took place despite its inclusion on the agenda.
METHODS:
We conducted a qualitative study using a case study approach. Two main sources of data were employed: face-to-face in-depth interviews and document analysis of key policy texts. We interviewed 24 policy actors from diverse sectors. A qualitative thematic framework, incorporating both inductive and deductive analyses, was employed to analyze our data.
RESULTS:
We found that the health sector was the main actor pushing the issue of shisha smoking onto the political agenda by framing it as a public health risk. The health sector and its allies advocated enforcement of a federal law to ban shisha smoking in all public places including teahouses and traditional restaurants whereas another group of actors opposed the ban. The pro-ban group was unable to neutralize the strategies of the anti-ban group and to steer the debate towards the health harms of shisha smoking. Our analysis uncovers three main reasons behind the policy stasis: lack of policy learning due to lack of agreement over evidence and related analytical conflicts between the two groups linked to differences in core and policy beliefs; the inability of the pro-ban group to exploit opportunities in the external policy subsystem through generating stronger public support for enforcement of the shisha smoking ban; and the nature of the institutional setting, in particular the autocratic governance of CHFS which contributed to a lack of policy learning within the policy subsystem.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our research demonstrated the utility of ACF as a theoretical framework for analyzing the policy process and policy change to promote tobacco control. It shows the importance of accounting for policy actors' belief systems and issue-framing in understanding how some issues get more prominence in the policy-making process than others. Our findings further indicate a need for significant resources employed by the state through public awareness campaigns to change public perceptions of shisha smoking in Iran which is a deeply anchored cultural practice.

- by Akram Khayatzadeh-Mahani and +1
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- Tobacco, Policy-change theory, Policy Process, Policy Change

Protected area governance has witnessed a shift from a strict-nature conservation model towards a seemingly more participatory approach in Nepal. Despite some progress, top-down and non-deliberative processes characterise policy making in protected area. However, many civil society actors have increasingly challenged the government to provide space for local people in decision making so that their rights to natural resources are considered. This article examines two key aspects of the politics of policy process: why conservation policy making is often less deliberative than it could be and why civil actors pick up some policy decisions (not others) for contestation. In doing so, we analyse a recent policy decision of the Nepal government on the protected area which encountered civic contestation. Drawing on the review of policy decisions and interviews with government authorities, civic leaders and protected area experts, this paper shows that the government and large conservation organisations continue to shape the policy process while undermining the legitimate voices of local and non-state actors in the conservation policy landscape. Civic resistance as a means of democratising policy processes looks promising, challenging unquestioned authorities of the government and conservation organisations. Nevertheless, the politics of resistance has enjoyed limited success due to the political interests of civic institutions and their leaders, at times overshadowing critical policy agenda such as the severity of rights constrained and issues of poverty and marginalisation. This article suggests that civic actors need to rethink over their politics of resistance in terms of pursuing agenda and strategies to ramp up policy deliberation.

- by Kumar B Darjee and +1
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- Conservation, Resistance (Social), Civil Society and the Public Sphere, Nepal

In recent years, US policymakers have instituted quadrennial strategy reviews in several major policy areas. In this article, I examine why policymakers have initiated these large strategic reviews, and why a particular model for them has diffused from the US Defense Department to other government agencies. I find that policymakers have initiated the reviews principally to spur organizational change in agencies and influence the relationship between agencies and Congress, and that policymakers have replicated the Defense Department’s review model because of that department’s strong political support. My findings suggest more generally that formal strategy activities are often driven more by legislative-executive and bureaucratic politics than by a search for new strategic ideas. Commonalities between the diffusion of quadrennial reviews in the United States and the diffusion of other strategy and planning processes internationally underscore the broader applicability and significance of these findings.

National policy on global health (NPGH) arenas are multisectoral governing arrangements for cooperation between health, development, and foreign affairs sectors in government policy for global health governance. To explore the relationship between national and global processes for governing global health, this paper asks: in what forms of interaction between NPGH arenas and global health governance are learning and networking processes present? In a multiple case study of Norwegian and Swiss NPGH arenas, we collected data on intersectoral policy processes from semi-structured interviews with 33 informants in 2014-2015. Adapting Real-Dato's framework, we analyzed each case separately , producing monographs for comparing NPGH arenas. Analyzing both NPGH arenas for relational structures linking external resources to internal policy arena processes, we found five zones of interactions-including institutions, transgovernmental clubs, and connective forms. These interactions circulate ideas and soften arenas' boundaries. We argue that NPGH is characteristic of transnational governance of global health.

- by Catherine M. Jones and +1
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- Policy learning, Global Health Policy, Policy Process, Global Health Governance

Crowdsourcing is rapidly evolving and applied in situations where ideas, labour, opinion or expertise of large groups of people are used. Crowdsourcing is now used in various policy making initiatives; however, this use has usually been focused on open collaboration platforms and specific stages of the policy process such as agenda-setting and policy evaluations. Moreover, other forms of crowdsourcing have been neglected in policy making with a few exceptions. This article examines crowdsourcing as a tool for policy making and explores the nuances of the technology and its use and implications for different stages of the policy process. The article addresses questions around the role of crowdsourcing and whether it can be considered as a policy tool or a technology enabler.

- by Araz 𝖳aeihagh
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- Information Systems, Information Technology, Public Administration, Technology

Comme l'explique le texte de présentation du séminaire, les travaux de la sociologie pragmatique se sont d'abord concentrés sur « l'étude des procédés par lesquels les acteurs font surgir de nouvelles causes » à partir d'un regard porté sur la trajectoire de ces causes, sur les épreuves multiples qu'elles rencontrent et sur les conditions qui rendent possible leur surgissement dans l'espace public. Ce regard porté par les sociologues pragmatiques sur la trajectoire des problèmes et des causes et sur les scènes qui rendent possible son ascension a souvent laissé dans la pénombre une scène pourtant essentielle, celle de l'action publique, c'est-à-dire celle(s) où s'élaborent et se discutent les positions et les propositions des pouvoirs publics, celles où se façonnent les lois, les décrets, les budgets, les circulaires et plus largement les actions que portent les gouvernements, les ministères, les mairies, ce que l'on appelle le système politico-bureaucratique. Dans les travaux de Gusfield par exemple, auteur qui fait souvent référence pour les sociologues des problèmes publics, la production des solutions est une activité secondaire soumise à la tutelle des opérations de définition et de cadrage des problèmes. Dans l'ouvrage récent d'Erik Neveu sur la sociologie politique des problèmes publics, bien que soulignant à juste titre l'asymétrie de traitement chez les auteurs s'intéressant aux politiques publiques entre traitement des problèmes et analyse des politiques publiques, il ne consacre lui-même qu'un seul chapitre sur les sept à cette question des politiques. A l'inverse, les travaux sur les politiques publiques ont de leur côté toujours assujettis la question des problèmes à celle des politiques publiques, en en faisant une catégorie plutôt secondaire au regard des processus qui assurent la stabilité et l'institutionnalisation des politiques publiques ou leur faible capacité à se réformer et à changer. Au mieux, ce que l'on nomme dans une mauvaise traduction la mise à l'agenda des problèmes est observé comme un élément perturbateur qui vient de temps en temps bousculé le long fleuve tranquille des politiques publiques. Dans cette sous-discipline de la science politique, le plus surprenant est d'ailleurs moins cet assujettissement qui trouve son explication dans la focale choisie, que le traitement épistémologique différencié que la plupart de ces travaux exercent lorsqu'ils s'intéressent d'un côté à l'émergence des problèmes dont ils interrogent le travail de définition et de propagation, inspiré par la sociologie des problèmes, n'oublions pas que l'analyse des politiques publiques est née à l'Université de Chicago dans ce que l'on a appelé l'école de

The purpose of this article is to answer some key questions about one of the most important frameworks in the research of the policy process – Advocacy Coalitions Framework created by Paul Sabatier. Within the article beliefs were defined as an essential element within the political system, which is responsible for the functioning of the advocacy coalitions operating in individual political subsystems. Secondly, as it had been shown in previous research, there are restrictions on signifi cant policy changes, which usually do not occur over the political cycle of 10 – 15 years. Over the last 25 years, the ACF – framework that in the words of the author is close to the status of theory – passed a few serious revisions in response to concerns from other researchers

- by Tomasz Czapiewski
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- Policy Process, Theories of the Policy Process, Public Policy

This chapter provides a policy-based reading of the drivers, processes, and long-term ramifications of the outsourcing of military support services that has thus far been all but absent from the literature. Military support services represent the vast majority of contracts let by the military, so that the findings arrived at here are seen to be representative for the broader issue of military contractorisation. Focusing on the USA and the UK, the chapter 1) identifies the structural, contextual factors that frame defence services acquisition, 2) maps the defence services acquisition “policy network”, and 3) identifies a systemic bias towards contractorisation. Based on these findings, the chapter 4) concludes with an outlook over the future of military contractorisation within the political context identified earlier.

- by Mark Erbel
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- Policy Analysis and Decision Making, Policy Networks, Policy Process, Lobbying

Crowdsourcing is rapidly evolving and applied in situations where ideas, labour, opinion or expertise of large groups of people are used. Crowdsourcing is now used in various policy-making initiatives; however, this use has usually focused on open collaboration platforms and specific stages of the policy process, such as agenda-setting and policy evaluations. Other forms of crowdsourcing have been neglected in policy-making, with a few exceptions. This article examines crowdsourcing as a tool for policy-making, and explores the nuances of the technology and its use and implications for different stages of the policy process. The article addresses questions surrounding the role of crowdsourcing and whether it can be considered as a policy tool or as a technological enabler and investigates the current trends and future directions of crowdsourcing.

Over the last decade, the development of rule of law, democratic governance and support for the growth of civil society have been at the heart of efforts to strengthen the political system in the Republic of Tajikistan. It is natural that within the process of ongoing reforms designed to improve and streamline public policy processes, new challenges for public policy development have emerged. This paper describes the policy formulation process in government in Tajikistan, its main stakeholders and sequences of adoption of draft legislative acts. It also highlights the main challenges to current reform efforts.

- by IPPA UCA
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- Policy Process, Legislation, reforming process, Republic of Tajikistan
- by Govinda Paudel
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- Policy Process
- by Cesar Nicandro Cruz-Rubio
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- Sociology, Public Policy Change, Policy Process, Policy Change

This article examines the legal and political context for prosecuting corporate crime in Indonesia. It presents a case study of the landmark case in which a migrant labour recruitment agency was successfully prosecuted for human trafficking. This article explains the rationale and motivation of the prosecution in four sections. First, it considers the development and purpose of corporate liability as a legal concept to foreground the second section, which outlines the legal and policy framework for pursuing corporations that commit crime in Indonesia. This section also offers a detailed discussion about how individuals have been proceeded against in human trafficking cases that involve corporations. Third, this article presents a case study of the first and only instance where a corporation was successfully prosecuted for human trafficking to highlight the sequence of events that made the effort possible. Fourth, the discussion that follows identifies the prosecution’s motivations for bringing the case, and makes empirical conclusions about the purpose of prosecuting corporations for human trafficking through the Indonesian legal system. In conclusion, this article argues that the institutional drive to punish corporate involvement in economic crime has created the necessary systems to seek the punishment of a wider range of other corporate crimes, including human trafficking.

- by Wayne Palmer
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- Human Trafficking, Indonesia, Policy Process, Migrants rights

Resumo: Este trabalho apresenta as diferentes teorias e modelos da Ciência das Políticas Públicas, discutindo a evolução e adensamento do campo. Os primeiros modelos a teorizar sobre o processo de política pública entendiam-no como resultado de decisões técnicas em etapas bem definidas. As contribuições das décadas de 1980-90 assumiram que as políticas seriam moldadas por contextos, arranjos institucionais e diversos atores, cujo comportamento definir-se-ia por crenças, interesses e ideias. Em seguida, destacamos a terceira geração cujas abordagens demonstram a crescente preocupação com a complexidade institucional e o gerenciamento do processo das políticas. Argumentamos que a evolução da agenda de pesquisa em políticas acompanha as mudanças nas próprias atividades estatais. A complexidade dos modelos aumenta em resposta às novas realidades e demandas sobre à administração pública e às políticas públicas, como a ampliação da participação e arranjos institucionais mais complexos. Por fim, traçamos breves considerações sobre os desafios do campo.

- by Lia Almeida and +1
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- Public Administration, Public Policy Analysis, Policy Process, Theories of the Policy Process
- by Ignacio Molina
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- Spanish politics, Policy Process

This paper uses data from a South Australian case study of a period of mental health reform (2000–2005) to answer the question of how different policy networks set agenda and implement policy to ensure that people with psychiatric disabilities have access to appropriate housing. Qualitative methods were used, including interviews (n = 31) and focus groups (n = 8) with non-government organisations (NGOs), consumers and carers and professionals from health, disability and housing sectors, and participant observation with South Australian NGOs (n = 52). These data were supported by a thematic analysis of national and State (i.e. South Australian) policies in mental health and housing sectors. The research indicated that, despite a number of ‘inter-sectoral projects’ and regional networks, the health and housing sectors were essentially separate policy systems with little integration. It also concluded that the absence of strategic integration across sectors leads to inadequate housing for people with a psychiatric disability. Research participants considered the need for better collaboration secondary to the need for additional housing and support resources and political commitment to such resources. A number of barriers and enablers to policy agenda setting and collaboration were identified. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy and policy processes which will support housing outcomes for people with psychiatric disability.

Scholarship on local governance in China in general and on the Chinese policy process in particular has expanded remarkably over the last four decades. Where earlier studies were mostly interested in grasping the dynamics of central-local relations, more specific features like performance evaluation systems or policy implementation processes have come under scholarly scrutiny over the course of time. New theoretical concepts have been introduced to explain phenomena pertaining to local governance, and this research has become ever more specialized. In this state-of-the art review, we trace the trajectories of research on the Chinese policy process in the reform era in two distinct periods before and after the inauguration of current CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping. By drawing on prominent theoretical and conceptual approaches to understanding and assessing the Chinese policy process in these two periods, we highlight the changes and continuities in local policymaking under Xi’s “to...

- by Anna Lisa Ahlers
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- China, Policy Process, Literature Review, Systematic Reviews

In this commentary, I want to expand upon the role of social constructivism in explaining socio-political contexts of science denial by putting emphasis on the way emotions are represented in the characterization of the post-truth phenomenon. Putting forward discourses on emotions surrounding the characterization of post-truth can help understand the persistence of science denial and situate its embeddedness in the broader socio-cultural context of a polarization between ‘elite’ and ‘people’. I illustrate this argument through some brief examples gained from a previous analysis of the public discourse surrounding the March for Science movement.

- by Anna Durnova
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- Discourse Analysis, Discourse, Interpretive policy analysis, Social Constructivism

Jeroen van der Heijden What is known about Punctuated Equilibrium Theory—and what does that tell us about the construction, validation and replication of knowledge in the policy sciences? Abstract This article reviews how the Punctuated Equilibrium-Theory (PET) has been applied in studies analysing policy change. It builds on a systematic evidence synthesis of peer-reviewed empirical literature that is based on the core readings by Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones. The article identifies trends in the geographical and policy focus of PET studies; maps, explores and interrogates how core concepts of PET are applied in empirical analyses; and, finally, assesses the analytical and explanatory power of PET when applied to empirical phenomena. The article finds that PET studies have contributed a great deal to our knowledge on particular cases, but that more often than not PET is applied in a selective manner. The article deals with the implications of these findings for further theory development in policy analysis. What is known about Punctuated Equilibrium Theory—and what does that tell us about the construction, validation and replication of knowledge in the policy sciences? Abstract This article reviews how the Punctuated Equilibrium-Theory (PET) has been applied in

Policy actors involved in decision-making processes interact and gradually accumulate evidence about policy problems and solutions. As a result, they update their policy beliefs and preferences over time. This process of policy learning is consistent if policy preferences are aligned with any adaptations in beliefs about policy outcomes – a crucial condition of learning-induced policy changes. This article examines whether and when policy learning is consistent based on regression analyses conducted on data from a 2012 survey of 293 Belgian actors involved in the European liberalization policy process for the rail and electricity sectors. In line with the advocacy coalition framework, existing research has suggested that motivated modes of reasoning, such as selective exposure and biased assimilation, influence policy actors’ attitudes and behaviours. This study isolates the effect of biased assimilation on policy learning by demonstrating that when policy actors adapt their beliefs about policy outcomes, they do not necessarily align their policy preferences with those adaptations. Furthermore, biased assimilation is higher among politically curious actors, but their degree of commitment to the policy process does not appear to play a role. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

- by Stéphane Moyson
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- Policy learning, Policy Process, Policy Change, Advocacy Coalition Framework
- by Tomasz Czapiewski
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- Policy Process, Polityka Publiczna, Punctuated Equilibrium, Teoria Polityki