Straßheim H. Policy as a body of expertise. In: Colebatch HK, Hoppe R, eds. Handbook on Policy, P... more Straßheim H. Policy as a body of expertise. In: Colebatch HK, Hoppe R, eds. Handbook on Policy, Process and Governing. Cheltenham, UK/Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar; 2018: 89-108
Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 2015
One of the fundamental questions for policy analysis – whether analysis for policy or of policy –... more One of the fundamental questions for policy analysis – whether analysis for policy or of policy – is identifying the underlying thinking behind the policy: how is knowledge (and what sorts of knowledge) brought to bear in the policy process? How do we explain differences and similarities – across jurisdictions, or policy fields, or time and place – in the sorts of knowledge used? This question drives researchers to examine and compare cases in search of significant relationships. The first question, of course, is “what sorts of cases?” The earliest comparative work in this field was done on data from US states, such as Dye (1966; see also Uslaner 1978). With the development of “policy analysis” as an academic field, it came to be assumed that the work of governing should be determined by appropriate expert knowledge, with policy professionals advising the “policy makers”, whose decisions would then be put into practice by functional subordinates. “Policy analysis” emerged as a specialized concern, a technique for the systematic comparison of alternative courses of action, grounded in microeconomics and taught in graduate programmes which could equip people with this knowledge and prepare them for work as “policy analysts” (Howlett 2009). Particularly in North America, “policy analysts” were appointed in government, and the work of policy was further institutionalized by the creation of a professional association with conferences and a journal. The assumption tended to be that comparison was between national policies, and that just as “comparative politics” usually seemed to mean comparing countries with one another, comparative policy analysis would involve cross-national comparisons (e.g. Rimmerman and Araten-Bergman 2010, comparing one policy issue across two countries).
‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the la... more ‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
The emergence of 'policy analysis' as a skilled occupation in the governmen tal process raised qu... more The emergence of 'policy analysis' as a skilled occupation in the governmen tal process raised questions about the significance of this work for democratic control in government, and the relationship between the discourses of elected leadership, expert policy analysis, and public norms and understandings, in the construction of policy. The questions are even more acute in the 'transitional polities' of eastern europe, where the norms of democratic accountability are less well established, but the rules of the game are 'under reconstruction'. This paper reviews the way the themes of professionalism and participation relate to policy work in transitional polities, the tensions that policy workers face, and the way that the diverse discourses available are mobilized in the discursive construction of policy and policy work.
This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "H... more This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "Handbook on Policy, Process, and Governing", to be published by Edward Elgar in December 2018. ‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
Soil erosion still remains the major cause of deterioration of soil physical qualities on cultiva... more Soil erosion still remains the major cause of deterioration of soil physical qualities on cultivated lands worldwide. A study was carried out on erosion plots at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria to assess soil physical properties after five years of using vetiver grass buffer strips (VGBS) and organomineral fertilizer (OMF) with bare soil on which farmers had planted without soil conservation measures as the control. Samples were analyzed for water stable aggregates (WSA), mean weight diameter (MWD), bulk density, porosity and particle size distribution. The cone index (CI) was also assessed. Infiltration values were fitted to Philip's and Kostiakov's models. Results showed that the amount of WSA for the VGBS and OMF plots was the same (64%) and on the bare soil was 54%. The MWD on the VGBS plot was 6.11% higher than on the OMF plot and 19% higher than on bare soil. The bulk density for the bare soil was 4% higher than that of the VGBS plot. Porosity values for the VGBS and OMF plots were the same, being 8% higher than the bare soil plot. The CI was 15.7% and 7% lower on the VGBS and OMF plots, respectively, compared to the bare soil. Cumulative and initial one-minute infiltration increased by 39.4% and 35%, respectively, on the VGBS plot when compared with the bare soil. Hydraulic conductivity increased by 41.7% on the VGBS plot when compared with bare soil. The initial capacity of the soil to accept water increased on the VGBS plot by 19% over the OMF plot and 39% over the bare soil plot. The index of soil sorptivity (reflecting rate of decline of infiltration capacity) was the same for the VGBS and OMF plots and 21.78% higher than for the bare soil plot. The use of vetiver grass buffer strips on erosion-prone cultivated fields over the years could act as a source of organic fertilizer, improving soil physical properties.
Page 235. 12 Mapping the Work of Policy HK Colebatch and Beryl A. Raclin This book originated in ... more Page 235. 12 Mapping the Work of Policy HK Colebatch and Beryl A. Raclin This book originated in a widespread concern by practitioners as well as aca-demics that the way that policy analysis is presented in the standard texts is an inadequate guide to policy practice. ...
In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic stu... more 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.
While policy design is a relatively recent term in the social science literature, the concept its... more While policy design is a relatively recent term in the social science literature, the concept itself is ancient. The modernist incarnation, from the mid-20th century onwards, is grounded in the applied social sciences: the systematic calculation of problems, values, practices and outcomes. But in many ways, the confidence of the faith in systematic design was not borne out by experience. It became clear that rather than finding expert designers advising authoritative decision-makers and perhaps monitoring the activities of subordinate ‘implementers’, the world of policy was populated by multiple participants in distinct organisational locations, with divergent framings, continuing negotiation on practice, and ambiguity in the understanding of outcomes. There is clearly a tension between the image of policy design and the experience of the activity. The response to this tension in the literature on policy design has largely been aimed at reconciling the experience of practice with th...
Public management is a domain of research that is now roughly three decades old. Researchers in t... more Public management is a domain of research that is now roughly three decades old. Researchers in this area have made important advances in understanding about the performance of public organizations. But questions have been raised about the scope and methods of public management research (PMR). Does it neglect important questions about the development of major institutions of the modern state? Has it focused unduly on problems of the advanced democracies? Has it made itself irrelevant to public debates about the role and design of government, and the capacity of public institutions to deal with emerging challenges? This set of eight short essays were prepared for a roundtable held at the research conference of the PMR Association at the University of Aarhus in June 2016. Contributors were asked to consider the question: Is PMR neglecting the state? Editors' note. This set of eight short commentaries were prepared for a roundtable held at the research conference of the Public Management Research Association at the University of Aarhus in June 2016. The question posed to all of the participants in this panel was whether the domain of research known as public management is neglecting the state. The question arises because of concerns about the limitations of contemporary public management research. The contributors to this roundtable generally agree on the need for a reconsideration of the aims and methods of public management research, although they do not all agree that a new focus on the state is the best way to redefine the domain. As it stands today, these contributors suggest, public management appears to neglect big questions about the structure of political power, the emergence and evolution of public institutions, and the fostering of public support for the exercise of authority. Developed mainly within a small set of wealthy and consolidated democracies, public management research may be premised on assumptions about state sovereignty, capabilities, and legitimacy that are not tenable in most other countries-and are perhaps increasingly untenable in the advanced democracies as well.
Sažetak Pojam policy sredisnji je pojam u praksi, jednako kao i u analizi javnog upravljanja, no ... more Sažetak Pojam policy sredisnji je pojam u praksi, jednako kao i u analizi javnog upravljanja, no rijetko kad je predmet velike teorijske pozornosti. On cini dio pretpostavljenoga svijeta stvari u kojem se neupitno pretpostavlja da je javno upravljanje koherentan, hijerarhijski i instrumentaliziran proces, a da je policy oblik izbora na temelju vlasti. Takvo predstavljanje upravljanja predmet je empirijskih i teorijskih kritika u kojima se vladavina u mnogo vecoj mjeri prikazuje kao oblik strukturirane interakcije. No te kritike ne uspijevaju potkopati snagu dominantnoga prikaza policyja kao izbora na temelju vlasti. Stoga je sredisnje pitanje analize i prakse javnih politika pitanje odnosa tih dvaju suprotstavljenih prikaza. Za policy se tvrdi da kao polje proucavanja pripada politickoj znanosti, no u njegovu proucavanju ona se nadmece s ekonomijom. Razliciti dijelovi ekonomije i politicke znanosti mobiliziraju se u analizi politika, pri cemu svaka od tih znanosti daje specifi can d...
One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased a... more One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased attention to policy, both as a concept for interrogating government, and as the basis for organizing work within government, leading to the development of ‘policy analysis’ as a decision tool. This paper reviews the development of specialised forms of ‘policy work’ in liberal western political systems in order to establish what can be learned by other sorts of polity, and in particular, the transitional states of Eastern Europe. It discusses the multiple and overlapping accounts of policy that are in use, and the implications that these have for the nature of policy work. It points out that policy work takes place in multiple locations where a diversity of rationales may apply, and discusses the implications of this analysis for the place of policy work in the modernization of government.Jedan aspekt modernizacije liberalne vladavine potkraj 20. stoljeća bio je pridavanje veće pozornosti ...
This book focuses on how we account for the work of policy, recognizing that there is more than o... more This book focuses on how we account for the work of policy, recognizing that there is more than one type of account, and that different accounts may 'make sense' in different contexts. In this perspective, we need to recognize that 'policy' is itself an account of government, a construct mobilized, both by academic observers and by practitioners, to make sense of the activity of governing. It presents government as a process of instrumental decision making, in which actors called governments address problems and identify goals; the practice of governing is then explained by referring back to these decisions, seeing it as the 'implementation' of the choices made by governments. Dye described public policy 'whatever government decides to do or not to do' (Dye 1985). The basic assumptions underlying this description are seldom examined because it seems like ' common sense,' but this is precisely why we need to examine these (and other accounts): in how (and why) they 'make sense' of the process? This account of government as a pattern of official problem solving is not the only version available. A much older interpretation (e.g., from Hobbes to Oakeshott) believes that government is concerned with order or the maintenance of stable relationships and practices as well as dealing with disturbances. The dominant paradigm in welfare economics considers government to be a mechanism that deals with market failure, while the processes of choice are simply devices that enforce calculated solutions to problems of collective action. A third interpretation sees government as a struggle for partisan benefit: 'who gets what, when and how,' as Lasswell (1936) described it. Linked to this, but also distinguished from it, is a perception of government as a competitive struggle for dominance among leaders, with statements about goals, choices or benefits being largely tokens in this continuing struggle. More recently, the term governance has been used to suggest that governing is the outcome of a complex interweaving of both official and non-official organizational forms, that often mobilizes different frameworks of meaning and rationales of ac
Two themes have traversed the academic and practitioner literatures on policy and policy analysis... more Two themes have traversed the academic and practitioner literatures on policy and policy analysis: the search for a sophisticated technology of choice in the paradigm of instrumental rationality, and a ‘puzzling’ about the relationship of this technology to practice. A great deal of conceptual development has emerged from the tension between these two themes. There has been a re-thinking of the nature of the actors in the policy process, of the significance of the organizational forms within which they are located, and of the way in which they engage with policy problems. There has been an increasing realization that while concepts of hierarchical authority and instrumental rationality are very significant in the policy process, they are inadequate as descriptions of that process, and that attention has to be given to the place of interpretation in the construction of policy. In this context, there has been a focus on the agency of the participants, and the way that policy activity ...
Straßheim H. Policy as a body of expertise. In: Colebatch HK, Hoppe R, eds. Handbook on Policy, P... more Straßheim H. Policy as a body of expertise. In: Colebatch HK, Hoppe R, eds. Handbook on Policy, Process and Governing. Cheltenham, UK/Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar; 2018: 89-108
Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 2015
One of the fundamental questions for policy analysis – whether analysis for policy or of policy –... more One of the fundamental questions for policy analysis – whether analysis for policy or of policy – is identifying the underlying thinking behind the policy: how is knowledge (and what sorts of knowledge) brought to bear in the policy process? How do we explain differences and similarities – across jurisdictions, or policy fields, or time and place – in the sorts of knowledge used? This question drives researchers to examine and compare cases in search of significant relationships. The first question, of course, is “what sorts of cases?” The earliest comparative work in this field was done on data from US states, such as Dye (1966; see also Uslaner 1978). With the development of “policy analysis” as an academic field, it came to be assumed that the work of governing should be determined by appropriate expert knowledge, with policy professionals advising the “policy makers”, whose decisions would then be put into practice by functional subordinates. “Policy analysis” emerged as a specialized concern, a technique for the systematic comparison of alternative courses of action, grounded in microeconomics and taught in graduate programmes which could equip people with this knowledge and prepare them for work as “policy analysts” (Howlett 2009). Particularly in North America, “policy analysts” were appointed in government, and the work of policy was further institutionalized by the creation of a professional association with conferences and a journal. The assumption tended to be that comparison was between national policies, and that just as “comparative politics” usually seemed to mean comparing countries with one another, comparative policy analysis would involve cross-national comparisons (e.g. Rimmerman and Araten-Bergman 2010, comparing one policy issue across two countries).
‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the la... more ‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
The emergence of 'policy analysis' as a skilled occupation in the governmen tal process raised qu... more The emergence of 'policy analysis' as a skilled occupation in the governmen tal process raised questions about the significance of this work for democratic control in government, and the relationship between the discourses of elected leadership, expert policy analysis, and public norms and understandings, in the construction of policy. The questions are even more acute in the 'transitional polities' of eastern europe, where the norms of democratic accountability are less well established, but the rules of the game are 'under reconstruction'. This paper reviews the way the themes of professionalism and participation relate to policy work in transitional polities, the tensions that policy workers face, and the way that the diverse discourses available are mobilized in the discursive construction of policy and policy work.
This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "H... more This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "Handbook on Policy, Process, and Governing", to be published by Edward Elgar in December 2018. ‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
Soil erosion still remains the major cause of deterioration of soil physical qualities on cultiva... more Soil erosion still remains the major cause of deterioration of soil physical qualities on cultivated lands worldwide. A study was carried out on erosion plots at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria to assess soil physical properties after five years of using vetiver grass buffer strips (VGBS) and organomineral fertilizer (OMF) with bare soil on which farmers had planted without soil conservation measures as the control. Samples were analyzed for water stable aggregates (WSA), mean weight diameter (MWD), bulk density, porosity and particle size distribution. The cone index (CI) was also assessed. Infiltration values were fitted to Philip's and Kostiakov's models. Results showed that the amount of WSA for the VGBS and OMF plots was the same (64%) and on the bare soil was 54%. The MWD on the VGBS plot was 6.11% higher than on the OMF plot and 19% higher than on bare soil. The bulk density for the bare soil was 4% higher than that of the VGBS plot. Porosity values for the VGBS and OMF plots were the same, being 8% higher than the bare soil plot. The CI was 15.7% and 7% lower on the VGBS and OMF plots, respectively, compared to the bare soil. Cumulative and initial one-minute infiltration increased by 39.4% and 35%, respectively, on the VGBS plot when compared with the bare soil. Hydraulic conductivity increased by 41.7% on the VGBS plot when compared with bare soil. The initial capacity of the soil to accept water increased on the VGBS plot by 19% over the OMF plot and 39% over the bare soil plot. The index of soil sorptivity (reflecting rate of decline of infiltration capacity) was the same for the VGBS and OMF plots and 21.78% higher than for the bare soil plot. The use of vetiver grass buffer strips on erosion-prone cultivated fields over the years could act as a source of organic fertilizer, improving soil physical properties.
Page 235. 12 Mapping the Work of Policy HK Colebatch and Beryl A. Raclin This book originated in ... more Page 235. 12 Mapping the Work of Policy HK Colebatch and Beryl A. Raclin This book originated in a widespread concern by practitioners as well as aca-demics that the way that policy analysis is presented in the standard texts is an inadequate guide to policy practice. ...
In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic stu... more 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.
While policy design is a relatively recent term in the social science literature, the concept its... more While policy design is a relatively recent term in the social science literature, the concept itself is ancient. The modernist incarnation, from the mid-20th century onwards, is grounded in the applied social sciences: the systematic calculation of problems, values, practices and outcomes. But in many ways, the confidence of the faith in systematic design was not borne out by experience. It became clear that rather than finding expert designers advising authoritative decision-makers and perhaps monitoring the activities of subordinate ‘implementers’, the world of policy was populated by multiple participants in distinct organisational locations, with divergent framings, continuing negotiation on practice, and ambiguity in the understanding of outcomes. There is clearly a tension between the image of policy design and the experience of the activity. The response to this tension in the literature on policy design has largely been aimed at reconciling the experience of practice with th...
Public management is a domain of research that is now roughly three decades old. Researchers in t... more Public management is a domain of research that is now roughly three decades old. Researchers in this area have made important advances in understanding about the performance of public organizations. But questions have been raised about the scope and methods of public management research (PMR). Does it neglect important questions about the development of major institutions of the modern state? Has it focused unduly on problems of the advanced democracies? Has it made itself irrelevant to public debates about the role and design of government, and the capacity of public institutions to deal with emerging challenges? This set of eight short essays were prepared for a roundtable held at the research conference of the PMR Association at the University of Aarhus in June 2016. Contributors were asked to consider the question: Is PMR neglecting the state? Editors' note. This set of eight short commentaries were prepared for a roundtable held at the research conference of the Public Management Research Association at the University of Aarhus in June 2016. The question posed to all of the participants in this panel was whether the domain of research known as public management is neglecting the state. The question arises because of concerns about the limitations of contemporary public management research. The contributors to this roundtable generally agree on the need for a reconsideration of the aims and methods of public management research, although they do not all agree that a new focus on the state is the best way to redefine the domain. As it stands today, these contributors suggest, public management appears to neglect big questions about the structure of political power, the emergence and evolution of public institutions, and the fostering of public support for the exercise of authority. Developed mainly within a small set of wealthy and consolidated democracies, public management research may be premised on assumptions about state sovereignty, capabilities, and legitimacy that are not tenable in most other countries-and are perhaps increasingly untenable in the advanced democracies as well.
Sažetak Pojam policy sredisnji je pojam u praksi, jednako kao i u analizi javnog upravljanja, no ... more Sažetak Pojam policy sredisnji je pojam u praksi, jednako kao i u analizi javnog upravljanja, no rijetko kad je predmet velike teorijske pozornosti. On cini dio pretpostavljenoga svijeta stvari u kojem se neupitno pretpostavlja da je javno upravljanje koherentan, hijerarhijski i instrumentaliziran proces, a da je policy oblik izbora na temelju vlasti. Takvo predstavljanje upravljanja predmet je empirijskih i teorijskih kritika u kojima se vladavina u mnogo vecoj mjeri prikazuje kao oblik strukturirane interakcije. No te kritike ne uspijevaju potkopati snagu dominantnoga prikaza policyja kao izbora na temelju vlasti. Stoga je sredisnje pitanje analize i prakse javnih politika pitanje odnosa tih dvaju suprotstavljenih prikaza. Za policy se tvrdi da kao polje proucavanja pripada politickoj znanosti, no u njegovu proucavanju ona se nadmece s ekonomijom. Razliciti dijelovi ekonomije i politicke znanosti mobiliziraju se u analizi politika, pri cemu svaka od tih znanosti daje specifi can d...
One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased a... more One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased attention to policy, both as a concept for interrogating government, and as the basis for organizing work within government, leading to the development of ‘policy analysis’ as a decision tool. This paper reviews the development of specialised forms of ‘policy work’ in liberal western political systems in order to establish what can be learned by other sorts of polity, and in particular, the transitional states of Eastern Europe. It discusses the multiple and overlapping accounts of policy that are in use, and the implications that these have for the nature of policy work. It points out that policy work takes place in multiple locations where a diversity of rationales may apply, and discusses the implications of this analysis for the place of policy work in the modernization of government.Jedan aspekt modernizacije liberalne vladavine potkraj 20. stoljeća bio je pridavanje veće pozornosti ...
This book focuses on how we account for the work of policy, recognizing that there is more than o... more This book focuses on how we account for the work of policy, recognizing that there is more than one type of account, and that different accounts may 'make sense' in different contexts. In this perspective, we need to recognize that 'policy' is itself an account of government, a construct mobilized, both by academic observers and by practitioners, to make sense of the activity of governing. It presents government as a process of instrumental decision making, in which actors called governments address problems and identify goals; the practice of governing is then explained by referring back to these decisions, seeing it as the 'implementation' of the choices made by governments. Dye described public policy 'whatever government decides to do or not to do' (Dye 1985). The basic assumptions underlying this description are seldom examined because it seems like ' common sense,' but this is precisely why we need to examine these (and other accounts): in how (and why) they 'make sense' of the process? This account of government as a pattern of official problem solving is not the only version available. A much older interpretation (e.g., from Hobbes to Oakeshott) believes that government is concerned with order or the maintenance of stable relationships and practices as well as dealing with disturbances. The dominant paradigm in welfare economics considers government to be a mechanism that deals with market failure, while the processes of choice are simply devices that enforce calculated solutions to problems of collective action. A third interpretation sees government as a struggle for partisan benefit: 'who gets what, when and how,' as Lasswell (1936) described it. Linked to this, but also distinguished from it, is a perception of government as a competitive struggle for dominance among leaders, with statements about goals, choices or benefits being largely tokens in this continuing struggle. More recently, the term governance has been used to suggest that governing is the outcome of a complex interweaving of both official and non-official organizational forms, that often mobilizes different frameworks of meaning and rationales of ac
Two themes have traversed the academic and practitioner literatures on policy and policy analysis... more Two themes have traversed the academic and practitioner literatures on policy and policy analysis: the search for a sophisticated technology of choice in the paradigm of instrumental rationality, and a ‘puzzling’ about the relationship of this technology to practice. A great deal of conceptual development has emerged from the tension between these two themes. There has been a re-thinking of the nature of the actors in the policy process, of the significance of the organizational forms within which they are located, and of the way in which they engage with policy problems. There has been an increasing realization that while concepts of hierarchical authority and instrumental rationality are very significant in the policy process, they are inadequate as descriptions of that process, and that attention has to be given to the place of interpretation in the construction of policy. In this context, there has been a focus on the agency of the participants, and the way that policy activity ...
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