W4: agenda setting Flashcards
What is an ‘agenda’?
- An agenda is the set of issues that receive serious consideration in a polity
- Or: an agenda is the range of legitimate concerns in a polity
- Political agenda: the set of issues to which policy-makers pay serious attention
- Issues can be ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ on the agenda. The fact that there is such a thing as an agenda at all stems from a simple fact: people cannot attend to all things at the same time. The number of issues that could be taken up is almost limitless.
Agenda-setting is a highly political process.
- They do not simply happen.
- Some groups and politicians gain if an issue comes on the political agenda while others lose.
Functionalist explanations of EU policymaking
EU policies are a response to European collective action problems, types:
- Activities with cross-border spillovers
- International common pool resources
Examples:
- Climate change
- Packaging waste: a lot of waste will end somewhere else, there is cross border trade, waste itself is traded a lot
- Smoking: standard for trade (maximum price), advertising banned at EU-level (because magazines are cross border)
- Animal welfare: to prevent moving between countries
- Working times
The limits of functionalist explanations:
- They do not explain why seemingly ‘domestic’ issues come onto the EU agenda
- They disregard the political construction of what constitutes a ‘cross-broder’ issue
- They do not explain why issues rise and fall on the EU agenda
Why is agenda setting important?
- Agenda setting determines which issues are taken up and which are left out
- Agenda setting determines in which terms an issue is defined, which has an important impact on subsequent decision-making
- In the EU: agenda setting determines the scope of European integration
- Agenda setting reveals the ‘bias’ in each political system:
Some issues are prescriptive and have a better chance to get on the agenda than other issues 🡪 structural issues of the system (organized), the political balance (for instance between interest groups and the public opinion)
Types of agendas and agenda dynamics
- The political agenda: which consists of issues that policy makers pay attention to;
- The media agenda, which consists of the issues that receive attention in newspapers, on television and on the internet;
- The public agenda, which includes the issues that citizens find important at a given point in time.
These agendas may influence each other but they are not identical: policy-makers may discuss issues that hardly appear in the media and are not on many people’s minds, while some issues may be important in public opinion or in the media but resonate much less in the political arena.
Linkages between the types of agendas
The interaction between these agendas is important for understanding agenda-setting dynamics, not just in the EU but in every political system. Agenda-setting scholars have distinguished three ways in which the various agendas may interact:
- In the ‘outside initiative model’, issues arise within groups in society, which then seek to reach, first, the public agenda and, next, the political agenda.
- In the ‘mobilization model’, policy-makers take the initiative to place an issue on the political agenda and then try to gain support for the issue by also placing it on the public agenda.
- In the ‘inside access model’, issues arise within government and stay there. Thus, they are placed on the political agenda without attempts being made to place them on the public agenda.
Agenda-setting dynamics in the EU
Outside initiatives in the EU
- The outside initiative model is closely linked with the strategy of outside lobbying. This model is less common at the EU level than within its member states. It is not a typical way for issues to reach the EU agenda.
Mobilization in the EU
- For the same reason, the mobilization model is less common than it is in domestic democratic systems.
- Policy-makers may seek to mobilize public opinion in order to overcome resistance within government itself.
- Because EU policy-making is more ‘immune’ to public opinion, mobilizing public opinion is as ineffective a strategy for policy-makers as it is for interest groups.
Inside access in the EU
- Just as the smaller role of public opinion in the EU limits the prevalence of outside initiatives and mobilization, it increases the importance of inside access.
- Because EU policy-making largely takes place within the EU institutions, many issues are typically raised there.
Why do political actors attempt to bring issues to the EU agenda?
- Tackling cross-border issues
- The first reason is the most straightforward one: actors may want to bring issues on to the EU agenda because the problem they seek to address can only be solved at the EU level.
- The classic example is cross-border pollution. - Political motives
- A political motive for moving an issue to the EU level arises when political actors want to circumvent political opposition ‘at home’.
- During the 70’s British women’s groups deliberately went to the EU level to fight for equal rights between men and women because they felt the EU would be more receptive to their claims than British Politicians.
- Member state governments as a whole may also prefer to bring an issue to the EU level because it allows them to avoid blame for unpopular decisions. - Economic motives
- The economic motive for bringing an issue to the EU level has to do with the effects of differences in regulation on the competitiveness of firms.
- In order to create a ‘level playing field’, firms may therefore argue for EU regulation. - Universalistic motives
- Universalistic motives involve a belief on the part of a political actor that all citizens within the EU should enjoy the same rights or arrangements. - Institutional motives
- The European institutions themselves often have specific motives to try to bring issues to the EU level.
- Like national groups or politicians, they can be motivated by universalistic motives. In addition the Commission and the EP have clear institutional motives to attract certain issues.
- Most government organizations seek to extend their tasks and take up new, interesting issues. - Combinations of motives
- This overview shows the varied and complicated nature of the motives behind issues on the EU agenda. In reality, many issues are brought up as the result of a combination of motives and different actors may have different motives for bringing the same issue to the EU agenda: there may be some cross-border aspects, it may be politically convenient to discuss an issue at the EU level, firms that incur high costs support a ‘level playing field’, other groups may feel the EU offers a chance to ‘spread the word’, and EU institutions want to extend their activities.
The politics of agenda setting: defending the status quo
- If you are happy with the status quo, you do not want an issue to be discussed…
- …therefore, ‘status quo players’ want to limit the agenda
- Raising something else as more important, minimalizing the impact, making an issue technical etc.
Limiting participation and ‘de-politicisation’:
- Linking existing policies to ‘taken-for-granted’ values
- Claiming superior expertise and stressing the complexity of issues and policies
- Avoiding conflict
The politics of agenda setting: breaking the status quo
- If you are unhappy about the status quo, you want an issue to be discussed…
- …therefore, reformers try to expand the agenda
Expanding participation and ‘politicisation’:
- Linking issues to other values 🡪 smoking is not about liberty but the health of our children
- Simplifying issues and policies
- Creating conflict
From idea to proposal: the process of agenda-setting in the EU
- Informal discussions among politicians or policy experts in the media
- (in some policy areas) Multi-annual action plans
- Commission annual work programme
- Expert group
- Green Paper (+ consultation) green paper is a discussion document from the European Commission that outlines general issues and options around an issue without presenting specific proposals
- White Paper (+ consultation) white paper is a discussion document from the European Commission that presents specific proposals for EU action.
- Proposal(s)
Controlling agendas: three key factors
Framing: In which terms is an issue defined?
- A frame is an interpretation scheme with which issues and events are defined and given meaning. Framing is the activity of (re)defining an issue in such a way that it fits a particular frame.
- Issue framing determines how an issue is conceived and, consequently, who will be involved in the policy process and whether or not the issue will command a lot of attention.
- They change the focus of the policy debate and types of policy that are deemed appropriate and viable.
- Framing determines who participates.
Institutional structures: Who decides on an issue?
- A policy venue: is an institution that has the authority to make decisions about an issue.
- Which issues are discussed and how they are discussed depends largely on the characteristics of a venue.
- By framing an issue in a way that appeals to a certain venue, it is possible to attract the attention of that venue and involve it in policy debates.
Timing: Ideas whose time has come and focusing events
- A policy window: is a short period in which an issue commands a lot of attention and decisions on that issue can be taken.
- Focusing event: an occurrence that strongly draws attention to a problem
A policy window opens when three streams of events come together:
- There is wide recognition of the importance of some problem.
- A viable and acceptable solution to that problem is available.
- Political circumstances for the adoption of that solution are favourable.
Issues and venues
Venues differ in terms of:
- Who participates
- What is their remit
- What kind of arguments they find appealing
As a result, the choice of venue has implications for:
- The issues that are likely to be taken up
- The decisions that are likely to be taken
In the EU: both vertical (member states-EU-global) and horizontal (various EU institutions).
Changing frames can change the venue of the discussion
Focusing events:
critical moment that brings a particular policy issues to the fore
