Maarten A. Hajer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199281671
- eISBN:
- 9780191713132
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281671.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Mediatic representation has become an integral part of politics and policy. The dominance of incident-oriented media formats has led students of politics and media to fear a trend of ‘dumbing down’: ...
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Mediatic representation has become an integral part of politics and policy. The dominance of incident-oriented media formats has led students of politics and media to fear a trend of ‘dumbing down’: the privileging of style over content. This book takes issue with the ‘dumbing down’ thesis both on theoretical and empirical grounds. In particular it investigates how an authoritative governance is possible in crisis-ridden circumstances in a mediatized environment. Maarten Hajer comes up with a communicative understanding of authority, creating a new basis for an authoritative governance in a world marked by political and institutional fragmentation. Extending his discourse-analytical framework, Hajer uses both discursive and dramaturgical methods to study policy makers in their struggle for authority. Three elaborate case studies provide a wealth of details of the dynamics of authority in today's mediatized polity and the peculiar role of crisis and incidents in this. The message of the book is that in the age of mediatization governance needs to be performed. Hajer illuminates contours of a new authoritative governance that encompass different elements than usually get represented in the media or indeed in textbooks on media studies, public policy, or governance. The book shows new ways to recombine traditional government of standing institutions to notions of network governance. The book thus provides new ideas about authoritative governance which is based on the need to actively create relations with a variety of publics.Less
Mediatic representation has become an integral part of politics and policy. The dominance of incident-oriented media formats has led students of politics and media to fear a trend of ‘dumbing down’: the privileging of style over content. This book takes issue with the ‘dumbing down’ thesis both on theoretical and empirical grounds. In particular it investigates how an authoritative governance is possible in crisis-ridden circumstances in a mediatized environment. Maarten Hajer comes up with a communicative understanding of authority, creating a new basis for an authoritative governance in a world marked by political and institutional fragmentation. Extending his discourse-analytical framework, Hajer uses both discursive and dramaturgical methods to study policy makers in their struggle for authority. Three elaborate case studies provide a wealth of details of the dynamics of authority in today's mediatized polity and the peculiar role of crisis and incidents in this. The message of the book is that in the age of mediatization governance needs to be performed. Hajer illuminates contours of a new authoritative governance that encompass different elements than usually get represented in the media or indeed in textbooks on media studies, public policy, or governance. The book shows new ways to recombine traditional government of standing institutions to notions of network governance. The book thus provides new ideas about authoritative governance which is based on the need to actively create relations with a variety of publics.
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In recent years a set of new ‘postempiricist’ approaches to public policy, drawing on discursive analysis and participatory deliberative practices, have come to challenge the dominant technocratic, ...
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In recent years a set of new ‘postempiricist’ approaches to public policy, drawing on discursive analysis and participatory deliberative practices, have come to challenge the dominant technocratic, empiricist models in policy analysis. In this book, Frank Fischer brings together this work for the first time and critically examines its implications for the field of public policy studies. He describes the theoretical, methodological and political dimensions of this emerging approach to policy research. The book includes a discussion of the social construction of policy problems, the role of interpretation and narrative analysis in policy inquiry, the dialectics of policy argumentation, and the uses of participatory policy analysis. After an introductory chapter, ten further chapters are arranged in four parts: Part I, Public Policy and the Discursive Construction of Reality (two chapters), introduces the re-emergence of interest in ideas and discourse. It then turns to the postempiricist or constructionist view of social reality, presenting public policy as a discursive construct that turns on multiple interpretations. Part II, Public Policy as Discursive Politics (two chapters), examines more specifically the nature of discursive politics and discourse theory and illustrates through a particular disciplinary debate the theoretical, methodological, and political implications of such a conceptual reframing of policy inquiry. Part III, Discursive Policy Inquiry: Resituating Empirical Analysis (four chapters), offers a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores specific methodological perspectives pertinent to such an orientation, in particular the role of interpretation in policy analysis, narrative policy analysis, and the dialectics of policy argumentation. Part IV, Deliberative Governance (two chapters), discusses the participatory implications of such a method and the role of the policy analyst as facilitator of citizen deliberation .Less
In recent years a set of new ‘postempiricist’ approaches to public policy, drawing on discursive analysis and participatory deliberative practices, have come to challenge the dominant technocratic, empiricist models in policy analysis. In this book, Frank Fischer brings together this work for the first time and critically examines its implications for the field of public policy studies. He describes the theoretical, methodological and political dimensions of this emerging approach to policy research. The book includes a discussion of the social construction of policy problems, the role of interpretation and narrative analysis in policy inquiry, the dialectics of policy argumentation, and the uses of participatory policy analysis. After an introductory chapter, ten further chapters are arranged in four parts: Part I, Public Policy and the Discursive Construction of Reality (two chapters), introduces the re-emergence of interest in ideas and discourse. It then turns to the postempiricist or constructionist view of social reality, presenting public policy as a discursive construct that turns on multiple interpretations. Part II, Public Policy as Discursive Politics (two chapters), examines more specifically the nature of discursive politics and discourse theory and illustrates through a particular disciplinary debate the theoretical, methodological, and political implications of such a conceptual reframing of policy inquiry. Part III, Discursive Policy Inquiry: Resituating Empirical Analysis (four chapters), offers a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores specific methodological perspectives pertinent to such an orientation, in particular the role of interpretation in policy analysis, narrative policy analysis, and the dialectics of policy argumentation. Part IV, Deliberative Governance (two chapters), discusses the participatory implications of such a method and the role of the policy analyst as facilitator of citizen deliberation .
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This introductory chapter makes the point that public policy studies has been one of the fastest growing specializations in the social sciences, and has largely been an American phenomenon. It looks ...
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This introductory chapter makes the point that public policy studies has been one of the fastest growing specializations in the social sciences, and has largely been an American phenomenon. It looks at what the field includes, and at the previously dominant practice of technocratic policy analysis. The problems that have emerged with the technocratic practice of policy-analytic research are then examined by looking at the policy orientation in its broader political context. The emphasis here is on the American story, which best illustrates the limitations of the practice as it has emerged. The last section of the chapter looks at the postempiricist alternative. Policy argumentation and discourse (participatory policy analysis).Less
This introductory chapter makes the point that public policy studies has been one of the fastest growing specializations in the social sciences, and has largely been an American phenomenon. It looks at what the field includes, and at the previously dominant practice of technocratic policy analysis. The problems that have emerged with the technocratic practice of policy-analytic research are then examined by looking at the policy orientation in its broader political context. The emphasis here is on the American story, which best illustrates the limitations of the practice as it has emerged. The last section of the chapter looks at the postempiricist alternative. Policy argumentation and discourse (participatory policy analysis).
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This is the last of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the dialectics (logical structure) of policy ...
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This is the last of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the dialectics (logical structure) of policy argumentation. Approaches are examined to discursive policy analysis and policy argumentation with an emphasis on the integration of empirical and normative inquiry. The discussion is oriented around a particular line of development in the argumentative turn, namely, a dialectical communications approach based on the informal or good-reasons logic of argumentation. In particular, the productive capacities of the communications model are emphasized, namely, its ability to generate ways of thinking and seeing that open new possibilities for problem-solving and action, or, in the language of Habermas’s critical theory, its ‘communicative power’. The different sections of the chapter look at argumentative discursive policy practices, the communications model of argumentative policy analysis, the search for rational procedures in argumentation, the logic of policy arguments (practical discourse), policy argumentation as practical reason, policy argumentation as communicative interaction (the role of analytical discourses), and critical rationality as undistorted communication.Less
This is the last of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the dialectics (logical structure) of policy argumentation. Approaches are examined to discursive policy analysis and policy argumentation with an emphasis on the integration of empirical and normative inquiry. The discussion is oriented around a particular line of development in the argumentative turn, namely, a dialectical communications approach based on the informal or good-reasons logic of argumentation. In particular, the productive capacities of the communications model are emphasized, namely, its ability to generate ways of thinking and seeing that open new possibilities for problem-solving and action, or, in the language of Habermas’s critical theory, its ‘communicative power’. The different sections of the chapter look at argumentative discursive policy practices, the communications model of argumentative policy analysis, the search for rational procedures in argumentation, the logic of policy arguments (practical discourse), policy argumentation as practical reason, policy argumentation as communicative interaction (the role of analytical discourses), and critical rationality as undistorted communication.
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This is the third of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the narrative form of discourse and narrative ...
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This is the third of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the narrative form of discourse and narrative analysis, an emerging and promising orientation in policy analysis. The social meanings uncovered by the interpretive analysis described in Chapter 7 are typically embedded in a policy narrative, designed to portray the fuller picture of a policy problem and the potential solutions. Built around interpretations, the narrative represents the policy situation, and offers a view of what has to be done and what the expected consequences will be. While there is a fair amount of conceptual overlap between the concepts of discourse and narration, narrative analysis is used in this discussion to refer to the analysis of stories. The first two sections of the chapter examines the general features of a narrative story, emphasizing its uses in both the social sciences and everyday social contexts, and discusses the basic epistemological issues involved in the production of a narrative text. The second three sections survey two prominent approaches to narrative discourse analyses that have emerged in the field of policy analysis per se: those of Stone and Roe. The last section examines how the logic of good reasons underlies the rationality of the narrative.Less
This is the third of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the narrative form of discourse and narrative analysis, an emerging and promising orientation in policy analysis. The social meanings uncovered by the interpretive analysis described in Chapter 7 are typically embedded in a policy narrative, designed to portray the fuller picture of a policy problem and the potential solutions. Built around interpretations, the narrative represents the policy situation, and offers a view of what has to be done and what the expected consequences will be. While there is a fair amount of conceptual overlap between the concepts of discourse and narration, narrative analysis is used in this discussion to refer to the analysis of stories. The first two sections of the chapter examines the general features of a narrative story, emphasizing its uses in both the social sciences and everyday social contexts, and discusses the basic epistemological issues involved in the production of a narrative text. The second three sections survey two prominent approaches to narrative discourse analyses that have emerged in the field of policy analysis per se: those of Stone and Roe. The last section examines how the logic of good reasons underlies the rationality of the narrative.
Richard I. Hofferbert and David Louis Cingranelli
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294719
- eISBN:
- 9780191599361
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294719.003.0025
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
How can we explain policy similarities and differences across time, jurisdiction, and country? Examples are offered in a comparison of social and economic context, the role of institutions, ideology, ...
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How can we explain policy similarities and differences across time, jurisdiction, and country? Examples are offered in a comparison of social and economic context, the role of institutions, ideology, democratic type, industrialization, and social change as they account for two political outcomes: welfare policy and party election programs. Key methodological and theoretical issues are raised, relating to the empirical demands of causality and contingency. ‘How politics matters’ is ultimately left unanswered because of methodological indeterminacies, though three findings remain: policies are not made in a socio‐economic vacuum, institutional effects are still an open question, and policy conditions are attributable to partisan conditions.Less
How can we explain policy similarities and differences across time, jurisdiction, and country? Examples are offered in a comparison of social and economic context, the role of institutions, ideology, democratic type, industrialization, and social change as they account for two political outcomes: welfare policy and party election programs. Key methodological and theoretical issues are raised, relating to the empirical demands of causality and contingency. ‘How politics matters’ is ultimately left unanswered because of methodological indeterminacies, though three findings remain: policies are not made in a socio‐economic vacuum, institutional effects are still an open question, and policy conditions are attributable to partisan conditions.
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This is the second of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the role of interpretation in policy analysis. ...
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This is the second of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the role of interpretation in policy analysis. While empiricists have sought to restrict the focus on meaning to the observable dimensions of social reality, the interpretive orientation requires the social scientist also to pursue the unobservable. Because language is able to carry and transmit meanings among people, access to the realm of meaning often can be gained through the study of communication (both spoken and written), but such meanings are generally only indirectly made available through such communications, so it is necessary for the analyst to move beyond empirical methods (such as content analysis) to an interpretive reconstruction of the situational logic of social action. This involves inferring other people’s meanings by identifying patterns that emerge through an examination of the verbal and non-verbal messages they give about their beliefs and experiences. Narratives, for example, are a way of making the subjective dimensions of verbal actions more accessible, and the social world is in significant part organized and interpreted through narrative exchanges in their various forms. The different sections of this chapter look at interpretative policy analysis, interpretative frames, methodological strategies, policy analysis as ‘thick description’ (an approach for exploring and discovering the meanings embedded in the language and actions of policy actors), the objectivity of interpretation, validity as credibility, and social meaning and the question of causality.Less
This is the second of four chapters offering a postempiricist methodology for policy inquiry based on the logic of practical discourse, and explores the role of interpretation in policy analysis. While empiricists have sought to restrict the focus on meaning to the observable dimensions of social reality, the interpretive orientation requires the social scientist also to pursue the unobservable. Because language is able to carry and transmit meanings among people, access to the realm of meaning often can be gained through the study of communication (both spoken and written), but such meanings are generally only indirectly made available through such communications, so it is necessary for the analyst to move beyond empirical methods (such as content analysis) to an interpretive reconstruction of the situational logic of social action. This involves inferring other people’s meanings by identifying patterns that emerge through an examination of the verbal and non-verbal messages they give about their beliefs and experiences. Narratives, for example, are a way of making the subjective dimensions of verbal actions more accessible, and the social world is in significant part organized and interpreted through narrative exchanges in their various forms. The different sections of this chapter look at interpretative policy analysis, interpretative frames, methodological strategies, policy analysis as ‘thick description’ (an approach for exploring and discovering the meanings embedded in the language and actions of policy actors), the objectivity of interpretation, validity as credibility, and social meaning and the question of causality.
Mark Thatcher
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199245680
- eISBN:
- 9780191715273
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199245680.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
This final chapter summarises the findings of the book and relates them to broader debates about internationalisation of markets and domestic institutional reform. It presents a policy analysis ...
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This final chapter summarises the findings of the book and relates them to broader debates about internationalisation of markets and domestic institutional reform. It presents a policy analysis approach of market internationalisation and economic institutions that builds on, but develops, second image reversed and comparative institutionalist approaches. The framework put forward differs from these last two by adopting a broader definition of internationalisation, one that includes international policy decisions. It suggests that carriers of internationalisation are not just socio-economic interests but also political and state actors, especially governments. It argues that internationalisation affects national decisions through a broader range of mechanisms than economic efficiency or distributional conflicts, and highlights those mechanisms that feed in directly to the domestic policy process and involve governments. It suggests that nations that represent very different varieties of capitalism can adopt similar sectoral institutions, but that they do so through diverse routes that reflect their domestic politics.Less
This final chapter summarises the findings of the book and relates them to broader debates about internationalisation of markets and domestic institutional reform. It presents a policy analysis approach of market internationalisation and economic institutions that builds on, but develops, second image reversed and comparative institutionalist approaches. The framework put forward differs from these last two by adopting a broader definition of internationalisation, one that includes international policy decisions. It suggests that carriers of internationalisation are not just socio-economic interests but also political and state actors, especially governments. It argues that internationalisation affects national decisions through a broader range of mechanisms than economic efficiency or distributional conflicts, and highlights those mechanisms that feed in directly to the domestic policy process and involve governments. It suggests that nations that represent very different varieties of capitalism can adopt similar sectoral institutions, but that they do so through diverse routes that reflect their domestic politics.
Mark Thatcher
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199245680
- eISBN:
- 9780191715273
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199245680.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
This introductory chapter offers an overview of the book. It sets out the book's subject, namely the effects of different forms of market internationalisation on decisions about national ...
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This introductory chapter offers an overview of the book. It sets out the book's subject, namely the effects of different forms of market internationalisation on decisions about national institutions. It also seeks to integrate internationalisation of markets and policy making through its ‘policy analysis’ framework. That framework seeks to avoid an over-narrow focus on international capital/trade flows and concentration on socio-economic interests driven by economic efficiency that weaken existing analyses of internationalisation. Instead, it gives due weight to policy making at both the international and domestic levels, underlines the role of governments and public officials in forming and leading reform coalitions, and shows how policy forms of internationalisation were influential because of their role in the policy process. The introduction ends by setting out the book's research design (five sectors chosen due to variations in forms of internationalisation compared across four countries that represent different ‘varieties of capitalism’) and summarises the following chapters.Less
This introductory chapter offers an overview of the book. It sets out the book's subject, namely the effects of different forms of market internationalisation on decisions about national institutions. It also seeks to integrate internationalisation of markets and policy making through its ‘policy analysis’ framework. That framework seeks to avoid an over-narrow focus on international capital/trade flows and concentration on socio-economic interests driven by economic efficiency that weaken existing analyses of internationalisation. Instead, it gives due weight to policy making at both the international and domestic levels, underlines the role of governments and public officials in forming and leading reform coalitions, and shows how policy forms of internationalisation were influential because of their role in the policy process. The introduction ends by setting out the book's research design (five sectors chosen due to variations in forms of internationalisation compared across four countries that represent different ‘varieties of capitalism’) and summarises the following chapters.
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The preceding chapters have covered the theoretical and epistemological support for citizen participation in policy-making. In this final chapter, the implications of this for the conduct of policy ...
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The preceding chapters have covered the theoretical and epistemological support for citizen participation in policy-making. In this final chapter, the implications of this for the conduct of policy analysis are addressed, in particular the role of policy analysts as facilitators of deliberative practices. The different sections of the chapter are: Communicative Policy Analysis in Critical Planning Theory – the conduct of policy analysis, in particular the role of the policy analyst as facilitator of deliberative practices; Communicative Theory: Replying to the Critics – of the communications model; Policy Epistemics – for discursive policy analysis; and The Curriculum: Participatory Training and Qualitative Inquiry – the implications of a discursive, participatory approach for the policy analysis curriculum.Less
The preceding chapters have covered the theoretical and epistemological support for citizen participation in policy-making. In this final chapter, the implications of this for the conduct of policy analysis are addressed, in particular the role of policy analysts as facilitators of deliberative practices. The different sections of the chapter are: Communicative Policy Analysis in Critical Planning Theory – the conduct of policy analysis, in particular the role of the policy analyst as facilitator of deliberative practices; Communicative Theory: Replying to the Critics – of the communications model; Policy Epistemics – for discursive policy analysis; and The Curriculum: Participatory Training and Qualitative Inquiry – the implications of a discursive, participatory approach for the policy analysis curriculum.
Mark Thatcher
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199245680
- eISBN:
- 9780191715273
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199245680.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The book examines when, how, and why internationalisation affects decisions about national economic institutions. It confronts questions at the heart of debates in political economy and comparative ...
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The book examines when, how, and why internationalisation affects decisions about national economic institutions. It confronts questions at the heart of debates in political economy and comparative politics. What does internationalisation of markets mean? Who are its carriers in domestic arenas? Through which mechanisms does it operate? What are its effects on institutional reform? To respond to these questions, the book develops a ‘policy analysis’ approach to market internationalisation and domestic institutions. It draws on two literatures, the second image reversed approach and historical institutionalist/‘varieties of capitalism’ studies, but seeks to overcome their limitation. In particular, it offers a definition of market internationalisation that includes policy forms, namely regulatory change in powerful overseas nations and by the EU, and gives due attention to policy processes and mechanisms. The book shows that contrary to expectations, transnational technological and economic factors made little impact, whereas regulatory reforms by the US, Britain, and the EU, undermined long-standing national institutions. Policy forms of internationalisation were more influential because they become part of domestic decision-making through a broader range of mechanisms than economic efficiency or distributional conflicts. Indeed, reform was led by domestic actors, not just socio-economic interests but also political and state actors, who altered their strategies and used policy forms of internationalisation to build new coalitions and legitimate change. The book's arguments are sustained by an analysis of five strategic sectors (securities trading, telecommunications, electricity, airlines, and postal services) in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, over the period 1965-2005. It combines cross-national, historical, and cross-sectoral comparisons to show the carriers mechanisms and outcomes of internationalisation.Less
The book examines when, how, and why internationalisation affects decisions about national economic institutions. It confronts questions at the heart of debates in political economy and comparative politics. What does internationalisation of markets mean? Who are its carriers in domestic arenas? Through which mechanisms does it operate? What are its effects on institutional reform? To respond to these questions, the book develops a ‘policy analysis’ approach to market internationalisation and domestic institutions. It draws on two literatures, the second image reversed approach and historical institutionalist/‘varieties of capitalism’ studies, but seeks to overcome their limitation. In particular, it offers a definition of market internationalisation that includes policy forms, namely regulatory change in powerful overseas nations and by the EU, and gives due attention to policy processes and mechanisms. The book shows that contrary to expectations, transnational technological and economic factors made little impact, whereas regulatory reforms by the US, Britain, and the EU, undermined long-standing national institutions. Policy forms of internationalisation were more influential because they become part of domestic decision-making through a broader range of mechanisms than economic efficiency or distributional conflicts. Indeed, reform was led by domestic actors, not just socio-economic interests but also political and state actors, who altered their strategies and used policy forms of internationalisation to build new coalitions and legitimate change. The book's arguments are sustained by an analysis of five strategic sectors (securities trading, telecommunications, electricity, airlines, and postal services) in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, over the period 1965-2005. It combines cross-national, historical, and cross-sectoral comparisons to show the carriers mechanisms and outcomes of internationalisation.
Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Taking up the tension between democracy and science, the discussion in this chapter seeks to reformulate the relationship through the social constructionist perspective, emphasizing science as a ...
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Taking up the tension between democracy and science, the discussion in this chapter seeks to reformulate the relationship through the social constructionist perspective, emphasizing science as a socio-political activity; rather than taking scientific practices to be the ideal for politics, the question asked is to what degree scientific practices might be democratized. Towards this end (and after first examining the challenge posed by democracy), the discussion outlines the contributions of citizen participation to both policy-making and collaborative inquiry; by transforming citizens’ ways of knowing and acting, participatory deliberation can build new political cultures capable of preserving and extending decision-making capabilities. Against this background the more challenging question of the citizen’s ability to engage collaboratively in the scientific inquiry process is considered. The discussion then turns to numerous participatory experiments that more specifically illustrate the possibilities and practices of citizen inquiry, in particular outlining the consensus conference developed by the Danish Board of Technology (which has emerged as the most elaborate form of citizens’ panel) and the methodology of participatory policy analysis. Citizen participation is not advanced as a cure-all for economic and social problems, nor is deliberation or argumentation meant to direct attention away from questions of interest and power, but it does hold out the possibility of bringing forth new knowledge and ideas capable of creating and legitimizing new interests, reshaping understanding of existing interests, and, in the process, influencing the political pathways along which power and interest travel.Less
Taking up the tension between democracy and science, the discussion in this chapter seeks to reformulate the relationship through the social constructionist perspective, emphasizing science as a socio-political activity; rather than taking scientific practices to be the ideal for politics, the question asked is to what degree scientific practices might be democratized. Towards this end (and after first examining the challenge posed by democracy), the discussion outlines the contributions of citizen participation to both policy-making and collaborative inquiry; by transforming citizens’ ways of knowing and acting, participatory deliberation can build new political cultures capable of preserving and extending decision-making capabilities. Against this background the more challenging question of the citizen’s ability to engage collaboratively in the scientific inquiry process is considered. The discussion then turns to numerous participatory experiments that more specifically illustrate the possibilities and practices of citizen inquiry, in particular outlining the consensus conference developed by the Danish Board of Technology (which has emerged as the most elaborate form of citizens’ panel) and the methodology of participatory policy analysis. Citizen participation is not advanced as a cure-all for economic and social problems, nor is deliberation or argumentation meant to direct attention away from questions of interest and power, but it does hold out the possibility of bringing forth new knowledge and ideas capable of creating and legitimizing new interests, reshaping understanding of existing interests, and, in the process, influencing the political pathways along which power and interest travel.
Richard Hoefer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199735198
- eISBN:
- 9780199918560
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199735198.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
Policy Creation and Evaluation has two purposes. The first goal is to describe and explain one of the most important domestic policy decisions in the post-WW II era, the passage of the ...
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Policy Creation and Evaluation has two purposes. The first goal is to describe and explain one of the most important domestic policy decisions in the post-WW II era, the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, otherwise known as either the Welfare Reform law, which created the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and ended sixty years of policy history in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Three decision-making models assist us in understanding the creation of TANF through different lenses. These are the historical model, the politics and power model, and the rational model. All are used to address the question, “Why did the Welfare Reform law emerge the way it did?” The second goal of this book is to show how programs such as TANF are evaluated and the methods that can be used. Individual chapters explore the use of primarily quantitative, primarily qualitative, and mixed methods evaluation techniques. The use of evaluation to assist in future policy efforts is also explored. The key element of this book is the linkage of policy creation modelling with policy evaluation efforts. Although readers will learn a great deal about the details of the TANF legislation creation and evaluation, they will primarily finish with a greater understanding of the policy creation and evaluation processes and will have a solid grasp of these two stages of policy-making.Less
Policy Creation and Evaluation has two purposes. The first goal is to describe and explain one of the most important domestic policy decisions in the post-WW II era, the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, otherwise known as either the Welfare Reform law, which created the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and ended sixty years of policy history in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Three decision-making models assist us in understanding the creation of TANF through different lenses. These are the historical model, the politics and power model, and the rational model. All are used to address the question, “Why did the Welfare Reform law emerge the way it did?” The second goal of this book is to show how programs such as TANF are evaluated and the methods that can be used. Individual chapters explore the use of primarily quantitative, primarily qualitative, and mixed methods evaluation techniques. The use of evaluation to assist in future policy efforts is also explored. The key element of this book is the linkage of policy creation modelling with policy evaluation efforts. Although readers will learn a great deal about the details of the TANF legislation creation and evaluation, they will primarily finish with a greater understanding of the policy creation and evaluation processes and will have a solid grasp of these two stages of policy-making.
Frédéric Mérand
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199533244
- eISBN:
- 9780191714474
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533244.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, European Union
The introduction explains the challenge posed by the European security and defense policy to the nature of the European state. Building on a critical dialogue between political sociologists and EU ...
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The introduction explains the challenge posed by the European security and defense policy to the nature of the European state. Building on a critical dialogue between political sociologists and EU scholars, it places military integration in the broader perspective of state formation since the 16th century. The puzzle is to understand why a large number of political leaders, defense planners, and diplomats are willing, without an external threat, to surrender key elements of state sovereignty. The argument is that the interpenetration of European states has created strong incentives for state actors to coordinate their foreign and defense policies at the EU level. More specifically, the development of ESDP is analyzed as the creation of transgovernmental field through fifty years of intense military and foreign policy cooperation among Europeans in the EU and also in NATO. Other theoretical perspectives on European defense (realism, liberalism, constructivism, and foreign policy analysis) are then presented and critiqued.Less
The introduction explains the challenge posed by the European security and defense policy to the nature of the European state. Building on a critical dialogue between political sociologists and EU scholars, it places military integration in the broader perspective of state formation since the 16th century. The puzzle is to understand why a large number of political leaders, defense planners, and diplomats are willing, without an external threat, to surrender key elements of state sovereignty. The argument is that the interpenetration of European states has created strong incentives for state actors to coordinate their foreign and defense policies at the EU level. More specifically, the development of ESDP is analyzed as the creation of transgovernmental field through fifty years of intense military and foreign policy cooperation among Europeans in the EU and also in NATO. Other theoretical perspectives on European defense (realism, liberalism, constructivism, and foreign policy analysis) are then presented and critiqued.
Kerstin Martens and Anja P. Jakobi (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199591145
- eISBN:
- 9780191594601
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199591145.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics, Political Economy
This volume is devoted to the analysis of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) and its role in international and national policy making. On its 50th anniversary, the OECD ...
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This volume is devoted to the analysis of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) and its role in international and national policy making. On its 50th anniversary, the OECD enjoys widely acknowledged international standing. Despite this, it has so far remained a rarely researched and analyzed organization. This book is thus a pioneering work: it fills a long‐overdue gap in presenting a theoretically guided and empirically rich analysis of the OECD as a political actor. It explores its role in political processes through various case studies in a variety of policy fields. By conceptualizing the contributions to this volume around the concept of mechanisms of governance, it evaluates how and to what extent the OECD provides international incentives for national policy making. The volume collects a set of ten contributions on the OECD and its activities in core fields of its commitment as an ‘economic organization’, such as economic and labor market policy, tax issues, finance or financial crime, but also in complementary fields in which the organization is active today despite its original economic focus, such as education, biotechnology, health, family issues, and migration. The case studies presented in this volume are an interdisciplinary collection from different academic perspectives, including political science, international relations, law and organization studies. The book provides a current and wide‐ranging analysis of this organization including its constraints and opportunities in policy making.Less
This volume is devoted to the analysis of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) and its role in international and national policy making. On its 50th anniversary, the OECD enjoys widely acknowledged international standing. Despite this, it has so far remained a rarely researched and analyzed organization. This book is thus a pioneering work: it fills a long‐overdue gap in presenting a theoretically guided and empirically rich analysis of the OECD as a political actor. It explores its role in political processes through various case studies in a variety of policy fields. By conceptualizing the contributions to this volume around the concept of mechanisms of governance, it evaluates how and to what extent the OECD provides international incentives for national policy making. The volume collects a set of ten contributions on the OECD and its activities in core fields of its commitment as an ‘economic organization’, such as economic and labor market policy, tax issues, finance or financial crime, but also in complementary fields in which the organization is active today despite its original economic focus, such as education, biotechnology, health, family issues, and migration. The case studies presented in this volume are an interdisciplinary collection from different academic perspectives, including political science, international relations, law and organization studies. The book provides a current and wide‐ranging analysis of this organization including its constraints and opportunities in policy making.
Kevin Featherstone and Claudio M. Radaelli (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199252091
- eISBN:
- 9780191599224
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199252092.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The Politics of Europeanization looks at the political aspects of European integration from the viewpoint of domestic politics. In so doing, it goes beyond the classic analysis of ‘how policies are ...
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The Politics of Europeanization looks at the political aspects of European integration from the viewpoint of domestic politics. In so doing, it goes beyond the classic analysis of ‘how policies are made in Brussels’ and raises instead the question ‘what is the power of Europe in national contexts?’.Whereas standard books on domestic politics and European integration look at different countries one by one, this volume embraces an innovative perspective based on specific concepts, indicators and a broad range of thematic issues. The contributors explain and question the ‘power of Europe’ by providing theoretical and empirical perspectives on domestic politics and institutions, government and administration, public policies, political actors, and business groups. The book has its origins in an international workshop on Europeanization organized while the editors were at the University of Bradford in May 2000, and a panel at the Political Studies Association annual conference the previous month; these initiatives were taken in the context of establishing the ‘Research Unit on Europeanization’ at the University of Bradford as a forum for activity in this area. It offers a new research agenda for the nascent literature on Europeanization. The book is arranged in six parts: I. Theorizing Europeanization (three chapters); II. Comparing Institutional Contexts (three chapters); III. Europeanization and Policy Analysis (three chapters); Interest Groups and Europeanization (two chapters); V. Understanding ‘Europe’ as a Policy Model (two chapters); and VI. Conclusion.Less
The Politics of Europeanization looks at the political aspects of European integration from the viewpoint of domestic politics. In so doing, it goes beyond the classic analysis of ‘how policies are made in Brussels’ and raises instead the question ‘what is the power of Europe in national contexts?’.Whereas standard books on domestic politics and European integration look at different countries one by one, this volume embraces an innovative perspective based on specific concepts, indicators and a broad range of thematic issues. The contributors explain and question the ‘power of Europe’ by providing theoretical and empirical perspectives on domestic politics and institutions, government and administration, public policies, political actors, and business groups. The book has its origins in an international workshop on Europeanization organized while the editors were at the University of Bradford in May 2000, and a panel at the Political Studies Association annual conference the previous month; these initiatives were taken in the context of establishing the ‘Research Unit on Europeanization’ at the University of Bradford as a forum for activity in this area. It offers a new research agenda for the nascent literature on Europeanization. The book is arranged in six parts: I. Theorizing Europeanization (three chapters); II. Comparing Institutional Contexts (three chapters); III. Europeanization and Policy Analysis (three chapters); Interest Groups and Europeanization (two chapters); V. Understanding ‘Europe’ as a Policy Model (two chapters); and VI. Conclusion.
John L. Campbell and Ove K. Pedersen
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691150314
- eISBN:
- 9781400850365
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691150314.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter shows that the German knowledge regime was coordinated through a number of mechanisms that reflected Germany's long-standing formal corporatist institutions as well as the country's ...
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This chapter shows that the German knowledge regime was coordinated through a number of mechanisms that reflected Germany's long-standing formal corporatist institutions as well as the country's strong multiparty proportional representation system of government. However, contrary to what one might expect given these institutional legacies, there were also a considerable number of more informal coordinating mechanisms. Following the end of the Golden Age, Germany faced a crisis of corporatism, which led eventually to an expansion of private policy research organizations, not to mention lobbyists, which increased competition in the knowledge regime. This was a decentralized effort to reform the knowledge regime through a kind of trial-and-error process based upon various privately organized initiatives, but it was blended with somewhat more centralized coordination too, such as deliberate efforts by the state to improve the scientific quality of policy analysis and advice emanating from the semi-public policy research organizations.Less
This chapter shows that the German knowledge regime was coordinated through a number of mechanisms that reflected Germany's long-standing formal corporatist institutions as well as the country's strong multiparty proportional representation system of government. However, contrary to what one might expect given these institutional legacies, there were also a considerable number of more informal coordinating mechanisms. Following the end of the Golden Age, Germany faced a crisis of corporatism, which led eventually to an expansion of private policy research organizations, not to mention lobbyists, which increased competition in the knowledge regime. This was a decentralized effort to reform the knowledge regime through a kind of trial-and-error process based upon various privately organized initiatives, but it was blended with somewhat more centralized coordination too, such as deliberate efforts by the state to improve the scientific quality of policy analysis and advice emanating from the semi-public policy research organizations.
Michael Di Francesco
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781447310273
- eISBN:
- 9781447310297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447310273.003.0017
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter surveys how skills for policy analysis have been integrated with educational curricula in Australian universities. It considers education for policy professionals in general, but more ...
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This chapter surveys how skills for policy analysis have been integrated with educational curricula in Australian universities. It considers education for policy professionals in general, but more specifically the teaching of public policy for public servants. The emergence of policy analysis as a field of study and its development in the context of public service professional education are outlined. The nexus between theory and practice in pedagogy is a key theme. The structure and curricula of current policy analysis programs in Australian universities are summarised. There is indeed a distinctly Australian approach to teaching policy analysis, one that is firmly grounded in an antipodean pragmatism.Less
This chapter surveys how skills for policy analysis have been integrated with educational curricula in Australian universities. It considers education for policy professionals in general, but more specifically the teaching of public policy for public servants. The emergence of policy analysis as a field of study and its development in the context of public service professional education are outlined. The nexus between theory and practice in pedagogy is a key theme. The structure and curricula of current policy analysis programs in Australian universities are summarised. There is indeed a distinctly Australian approach to teaching policy analysis, one that is firmly grounded in an antipodean pragmatism.
Kate Crowley and Brian Head
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781447310273
- eISBN:
- 9781447310297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447310273.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter provides an overview of the various contexts for ‘policy advising’ and policy capacity within and beyond government in Australia. The chapter identifies key forms of policy analysis, in ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the various contexts for ‘policy advising’ and policy capacity within and beyond government in Australia. The chapter identifies key forms of policy analysis, in both academic and practitioner contexts. Five broad approaches to the academic study of policy are distinguished, and the impacts of academic research and teaching are noted. The chapter also outlines the main themes covered by the expert contributors in later chapters of this volume. These themes include the evolving challenges for policy advising and policy inquiry processes within the public sector; the diversification of sources of advice, including the growing role of ministerial advisors, consultants, think tanks and media-enabled channels of opinion; the strengths and weaknesses of parties, trade unions, business associations and community organisations in developing and disseminating policy advice; and the role of scholarly research and teaching within these broad policy processes.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the various contexts for ‘policy advising’ and policy capacity within and beyond government in Australia. The chapter identifies key forms of policy analysis, in both academic and practitioner contexts. Five broad approaches to the academic study of policy are distinguished, and the impacts of academic research and teaching are noted. The chapter also outlines the main themes covered by the expert contributors in later chapters of this volume. These themes include the evolving challenges for policy advising and policy inquiry processes within the public sector; the diversification of sources of advice, including the growing role of ministerial advisors, consultants, think tanks and media-enabled channels of opinion; the strengths and weaknesses of parties, trade unions, business associations and community organisations in developing and disseminating policy advice; and the role of scholarly research and teaching within these broad policy processes.
Professor Peter Knoepfel
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861349071
- eISBN:
- 9781447303121
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861349071.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Organizations
This book is an English version of a successful text on public policy analysis originally written for policy practitioners in Switzerland and France. It presents a model for the analysis of public ...
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This book is an English version of a successful text on public policy analysis originally written for policy practitioners in Switzerland and France. It presents a model for the analysis of public policy and includes examples of its application in everyday political-administrative situations. This English version introduces supplementary illustrations and examples from the United Kingdom. Structured and written accessibly for readers who may not have an academic background in the social sciences, this book applies key ideas from sociology, political science, administrative science, and law to develop an analytical framework that can be used to carry out empirical studies on different public policies.Less
This book is an English version of a successful text on public policy analysis originally written for policy practitioners in Switzerland and France. It presents a model for the analysis of public policy and includes examples of its application in everyday political-administrative situations. This English version introduces supplementary illustrations and examples from the United Kingdom. Structured and written accessibly for readers who may not have an academic background in the social sciences, this book applies key ideas from sociology, political science, administrative science, and law to develop an analytical framework that can be used to carry out empirical studies on different public policies.
