Policy Process: Formulation Flashcards
What are the two components of policy design?
context & character
NOTE:
Putting an issue on the agenda is a good start, but if there also is an adequate, supporting, policy design, it is much better
What are the two context of policy design and agenda-setting?
macro: political regime, eocnomic system, etc.
micro: state cohesion/fragmentation, state/administrative capacity, etc.
What can be the character of policy design and agenda-setting?
parsimonious tool usage
scaling up of coercion
matching tools and targets
What are the steps of the policy analysis toolkit?
mapping and understanding policy actors
mapping and understanding policy change
understanding the role of ideas and developing arguments
understanding contexts
questions of mapping and understanding policy actors?
Who are the actors involved?
institutional vs. non-instiutional
Why are they involved?
strategic vs. goal attainment involvement
How are they involved?
formal (and informal) roles vs. lobbying techniques
What is the role of policy ideas?
function as “coalition magnets” (idea articulation, policy development, coalition scale) and are used by policy entrepreneurs in order to build winning coalitions and establish favourable power relations.
Ideas as one of the key resources but not the only one.
e.g. sustainability, solidarity, social inclusion
What are the main struggles of policy ideas?
adequate formulation
connected to shared beliefs (or beliefs in the making)
properly supported by other resources (economic and political)
def. policy formulation
identification and assessment of possible policy solutions to the problems which emerged during the agenda-setting stage
What is the key moment of policy formulation?
selecting alternatives
What actors are involved in the policy formulation phase?
Elected politician (Government)
Bureaucracy
Think Tanks and experts
(in Europe:) Interest groups and social movements
NOTE:
not mentioned before, but now: political parties
What types of policy subsystems are there?
policy networks, advocacy coalitions, policy community
policy networks: set of relationship among political and social actors linked by shared interests
advocacy coalitions: a set of relationship among political and social actors linked by shared beliefs
policy community: set of relationship among political and social actors linked by shared knowledge
What is the role of lobbying in the policy formulation phase?
characteristics: communication and specific knowledge of decision-making to enhance effectiveness
What is lobbying, what types are there and when is it the most successful?
def. any specific communication activity with a decision-making aim (exercising pressure and influence over a policy process) conducted by (mostly) associative interest groups
SUCCESS
more successful when in support of broad interests
TYPES
direct, indirect, grassroots
What is direct lobbying (goal, target, activities, resource)?
GOAL
influence a given phase of decision-making (often in the policy formulaiton phase)
TARGET
instiutional actors
ACTIVITIES
institutional initiatives such as…
…public or parliamentary hearings
…focused events (e.g. conferences)
…focused press releases
…focused media communication
RESOURCE
economic resources
What is indirect lobbying? (goal, target, activities, resources)
GOAL
create a favorable elite opinion environment which supports the preferences of the lobbying actors
TARGET
middle level bureaucrats and (top-level) non-institutional actors
ACTIVITIES
non-institutional activities such as…
…news management
…research activities
..general events (e.g. conferences)
…creation or support of think tanks
RESOURCES
economic resources
cognitive resources
