Policy cycle Flashcards
What is meant by agenda setting?
The process by which the demands of various groups in the population are tanslated into items that governments consider for action.
short:
It’s the process of turning public demands into issues for government action
What is meant by gap theory in agenda setting? And what are the flaws in this theory?
The wider the gap between the present situation and the norm, the more likely it is that action will be taken.
But 1: often grave problems are neglected (climate change, poverty, sex discrimination)
But 2: sometimes small issues get attention
But 3: concepts of power, institutions and information are missing.
What is the difference between a problem and a condition?
Condition (e.g. aging population): aspect of social life (outside of the bounds of government control)
Problem (e.g. elderycare) : Undsirable effect connected to a condition (manipulable: receptive to government action).
What kind of complex problems are there?
1) interdependent = connected to other problems (e.g. education, unemployment)
2) subjective = depends on where you stand (e.g. use of drugs)
3) artificial = depending on the definition (e.g. nitrogen)
4) dynamic = changing over time (e.g. migration and safety issues globally)
What is problem intractability? And name an example for intractable and tractable problems.
The degree of difficulty involved in developing and implementing solutions to policy problems, whether due to cost or other factors.
Tractable = car collision deaths
Intractable = drug abuse
What are the characteristics of a wicked problem?
1) lack of knowledge about the problem and solutions (for a long time climate change)
2) absence of agreement on values and objectives among the relevant stakeholders (migration, nitrogen)
What elements are involved in the access to an agenda
Content: differs depending on nature of social and economic circumstances (e.g. unemployments, subsistence levels)
Temporality: some issues call for immediate action, others can be given more consideration (e.g. ASML project beethoven)
What involves initiation of agenda setting?
1) inside initiation = from within governments (e.g. pension reform)
2) outside initiation = from society (e.g. migration, climate change)
What is ariticulation and how does it aid agenda setting?
Framing of the problem: make something look better or worse without changing what it actually is.
End goal: policy monopoly to get issue priority
What are barriers in decision making?
People who have interest in a no-decision scenario will try to block a decision. Barriers between different processes:
desires - demands - controversy - decisions - results
What are the different agendas?
1) Public agenda (informal agenda) = “issues which have achieved a high level of public interest and visibility”
2) political agenda (formal agenda) = “list of items which decision makers have formally accepted for serious consideration”
3) policy agenda (formal agenda) see political agenda
What are the three streams in agenda setting according to Kingdon?
1) policy stream = proposals, alternatives, solutions
2) problem stream = solutions
3) political stream = events, organized political forces, government, decision-makers looking for work.
What is a policy window? What kind of policy windows are there?
The concept of a “policy window” or
“opportunity opening” through which an issue may be placed onto a government agenda drives home the point that the agenda-setting process is sometimes governed by contingencies that force problems to the forefront.
1) Routinized windows (elections, budget cycles)
2) Discretionary windows (decision-makers open windows)
3) Random windows = an event sets problems on the agenda which were not there yet (terrorism and safety industry; e.g. 9/11)
4) Spill-over windows = an event which opens a new window but connected to problems which are already talked about (crisis; energy crisis/sustainability; e.g. fatbikes and electrical bikes)
What are the challenges in agenda setting?
1) Problem analysis: symptoms vs. causes (example: poverty and inequality vs inequal chances, disfunctioning educational system etc)
2) Crises call for swift action, but root causes are rarely addressed (example: energy prices and government income support in 2023 vs investment in sustainability)
3) Window dressing = saying that you take action without taking action and superficial policies damaging trust of organisations/people (example: war on drugs)
4) Blame avoidance = policymakers try to minimize their accountability for potential negative outcomes or unpopular decisions. Policy makers shift attention to less controversial problems and avoid making a decision -> policy inaction or half-measures. (e.g. climate change)
5) Saturation of the policy agenda (overloaded agenda elections November 2023)
6) Hijacking = when a group seizes control of an issue, reshaping it to serve their own interests rather than addressin gthe original problem -> shift focus from intended goals, potentially sidelining important aspects of the issue (example: dividend tax promoted by businesses; trickle down economics/Truss; emergency legislation/Wilders)
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What are the challenges in getting agenda status?
1) Shaping the problem definition
- Evidence-based problem
definition (‘busting myths’ vs
‘framing’)
- Inviting other parties (societal
stakeholders, partner
organizations) to the table
2) Managing agenda entrance strategically
- Timing (Recognizing policy
windows)
- Differences across political
regimes
3) Strategic alliances between state and non-state actors
- Cooperation with non-state
actors
- ‘Front-loading’/avoiding
resistance (Coproduction,
bottom-up approaches)
- Lobbyists
What is the definition of policy formulation?
the process of generating a set of plausible policy choices capable of addressing problems identified during agenda-setting
What are the phases in policy formulation?
1) Specify problem source
2) generate options (aims and tools)
3) set objective
4) build support
5) screen and sonsolidate options
What are policy instruments and what are their specifics?
What is used to directly or indirectly affect policy outcomes.
1) Communicative
instruments
(e.g. stimulate/discourage)
- changing behaviour by
providing information
- more knowledge about
choices and values
- cheap, fast, no short term
effect)
2) Financial instruments
(subsidize/tax)
- changing the costs and
benefits of decisions
- can have high impact, as
long as it is used
3) Legal instruments
(obligation/right/permit)
- social norms are enforces
by legal norms, enabling
behaviour or making it
impossible to act in a
certain way
- effective when
enforcement is in place or
the norm is embraced
4) Physical instruments
(obstacles to slow down
traffic speed)
- changeing the possibility
for certain behaviour
- effective as long as in
place
What are the differences between the different policy tools?
Hard law = coercive
Soft law = guiding and steering
substantive = direct
procedural = indirect
What kind of policy tools are there?
1) public = governmental organisations
2) private = businesses (market); civil society (NGOs); private sphere (family)
What are the different policy advisory systems?
1) public service (e.g. senior departmental policy advisors; strategic policy units
2) internal to government (e.g. ministers office; temporary advisory policy units; parliaments)
3) external to government (e.g. private sector; NGO’s; community organisations; trade unions)
What are the archetypes of policy making?
1) Evidence-based policymaking = Structured, logical and intentional design
2) Politically driven policymaking = Ad hoc, ‘meaningless’, non-design
What are the crucial capacities and capabilities of politically-driven policymaking?
1) Political sensitivity rather than technical expertise
2) Legitimizing non-technical processes (argumentation)
3) Political bargaining
4) Patching’ and ‘stretching’
