Content uploaded by Kai Wegrich
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Kai Wegrich on Jul 01, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
4 Theories of the Policy Cycle
... In digital government research, the policy cycle framework is a principal tool for discussing the planning, design, and execution of policies enhanced by digital technologies (Gilardi, 2022;Janssen & Helbig, 2018;Simonofski et al., 2021;Valle-Cruz & Sandoval-Almazán, 2024). Stemming from the seminal work of Lasswell (1971), the policy cycle has proven to be valuable in breaking down the different stages of the policymaking process, which are: agenda setting, policy formulation and decision-making, policy implementation, and policy evaluation (Jann & Wegrich, 2017). Against this backdrop, limited attention has been devoted to assessing the impact of digital technologies on the policy formulation phase, despite reiterated calls for further scrutiny (Ferreira et al., 2022;Höchtl et al., 2016). ...
... These frameworks often break policy development into structured phases or cycles, such as agenda-setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation (Lasswell 1956;Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith 1993). Early contributions such as Lindblom's incrementalism (Lindblom 1959) highlighted the fragmented and adaptive nature of policy decision-making, while later models sought to formalize policy cycles in structured sequences (Jann and Wegrich 2017). ...
... First, while the proposed framework has value as an analytical tool to organize the literature and as a normative tool, modern policy models contend that it is almost impossible to distinguish input from output (e.g., Sabatier, 1999). As such, just like the policy stages model which takes a similar approach, the model should not be interpreted as reflecting a perfect linear process but as a heuristic device to organize the literature and propose clear normative benchmarks (Jann and Wegrich, 2017). Second, the analytical framework is unlikely to encompass all possible forms of capture as the literature is still in its early stages on the topic. ...
Deliberative mini-publics are increasingly embraced by policymakers, marking their integration into the mainstream of contemporary democracy. However, their rising importance also makes them more attractive targets for elite capture. Surprisingly, existing scholarship has mostly neglected the threat of elite capture to deliberative mini-publics. This article fills this gap by proposing a framework to examine capture during the input, throughput, and output phases of mini-publics. The framework is consequently applied to a pioneering case: the Permanenter Bürgerdialog (PBD) in the German-speaking Community of Belgium. The PBD is a randomly selected assembly collaborating with the regional parliament on a permanent basis, rendering it an attractive target for elite capture. Drawing on original interview data, a qualitative analysis examining threats and resilience in the PBD yields three main findings. First, due to its complex procedures, there is considerable leeway for capture in the PBD. Second, the PBD is barely covered in the media, which renders its more vulnerable for elite capture. Finally, the PBD demonstrates how checks and balances through a separation of powers can significantly mitigate capture threats.
Policy termination is an underexplored area in policy studies, gaining attention during the 1980s with the rise of new public management and austerity measures. Assumptions of rational, evidence-based evaluations quickly gave way to the conclusion that political ideology and partisanship are the central drivers of termination in policy research, but with little insight into how and why. The recent upsurge in populist discourse has renewed interest in policy termination, particularly as populist agendas frequently include rhetoric about dismantling government programmes. This article examines how ideas, in the form of populist discourses, influence policy termination. Using the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party’s (OPCP) 2018 election as a case study, it focuses on the termination of Ontario’s carbon cap-and-trade policy and the repeal of its sexual health education curriculum. It highlights the role of political ideas and discourse in reframing issues and providing compelling narratives to build broad supporting coalitions and lower barriers to termination. The findings suggest that while populist leaders can mobilize support for termination, the success of such efforts depends on the alignment of political ideas with the lived realities and values of the people. This article contributes to the literature by elucidating the mechanisms through which ideas influence policy termination, offering insights into the dynamics of policy change in the context of contemporary populism.
The management of sustainability transitions often includes action to accelerate technological change. Deployment policies are essential measures to increase the adoption of technologies and spur technological development. However, processes of technological development often follow non-linear pathways, and aligning policy and technological development is challenging. This paper links technological innovation systems (TIS) and their dynamics to the policy feedback framework based on the notion that policies shape future politics. Most significantly, the explicit consideration of TIS processes and progress allows for a more nuanced view of how policy effects turn into feedback and for assessing the co-evolution of TIS and policy over time. This framework is applied to study the case of the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG, 1999-2017). The case study provides evidence that the virtuous cycles of rapid TIS development also increase the odds of growing negative feedback based on rising policy costs, competition within sectors, and increasing technology side effects, opening up windows of opportunity for policy change. Based on these observations, this paper proposes an ideal-typical technology deployment policy life cycle model that describes how TIS, the focal policy, and their context co-evolve in a reciprocal process for the case of the EEG. The discussion sheds light on how deployment policies trigger search processes within the TIS that may encroach national borders to satisfy technology demand. Such search processes fuel political optimism. Rising policy costs and side effects, however, produce policy feedback limiting political leverage. The proposition of a model of how the linkages between policy and technology unfold over time contributes to understanding the timing of policies within sustainability transitions.
Sustainability has emerged as an important topic in policy debates, necessitating urgent actions to guide societies towards a liveable future. However, bridging the gap between scientific research and policymaking remains a challenge. Green monitoring systems hold promise in translating scientific insights into actionable information for policymakers. Despite this potential, limited research explores how these systems benefit policymakers across the policy cycle. This study examines the design affordances of green monitoring systems and their realization through six semi-structured interviews with green monitors designers. The findings indicate that these systems primarily support the early policy cycle stages of agenda-setting and policy formulation, as well as the final evaluation stage. Three essential conditions for realizing these affordances were identified: integration into existing policy frameworks, clear ownership of indicators by policymakers, and enhanced capacity to interpret and utilize monitoring data effectively. These findings contribute to the development of effective green IS for governments.
Penelitian ini tentang Analisis Implementasi Kebijakan Program Perbaikan Rumah Tidak Layak Huni di Kota Depok dalam rangka mempercepat pelayanan bansos RTLH di Kota Depok dengan menggunakan model implementasi kebijakan publik dari George C. Edward III. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini diperoleh dengan metode penelitian kualitatif melalui survei lapangan, wawancara mendalam dan studi kepustakaan. Informan dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 7 orang dengan menggunakan teknik sampling purposive. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa implementasi kebijakan program perbaikan rumah tidak layak huni di Kota Depok terhadap model implementasi kebijakan Edward III belum seutuhnya dipenuhi dan diterapkan dengan baik yaitu variabel komunikasi, sumber daya dan struktur birokrasi. Saran yang dapat diberikan mengenai proses implementasi Program Perbaikan Rumah Tidak Layak Huni di Kota Depok adalah dengan memperbaiki beberapa kekurangan terkait dengan variabel komunikasi, sumber daya dan struktur birokrasi. Selain itu, Dinas Perumahan dan Permukiman Kota Depok perlu segera menyusun Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) dan mengganggarkan pagu dinas untuk pembuatan aplikasi eRTLH pada pelaksanaan program perbaikan rumah tidak layak huni agar mempercepat pelayanan bantuan sosial rehabilitasi RTLH di Kota Depok.
This handbook presents assessments of classic works in public policy and administration by an international collection of contemporary scholars. These classic works include books written by such illustrious intellectuals as Mancur Olson, Elinor Ostrom, and Herbert Simon. The list of contributors offering assessments of these classic works is impressive as well, featuring scholars such as Peter John, David Lowery, and Laurence E. Lynn, Jr. Each chapter of the handbook presents a classic work, lays out its treatment in the years and decades since its publication, and comes to an assessment of its place in the field of public policy and administration. The collection of classic works demonstrates the breadth of the field of public policy and administration, touching on topics ranging from mobilization and political participation to decision-making across types of organizations and levels of government. Although public policy and administration may not in some respects constitute a well-defined area of inquiry, this collection demonstrates that there is a core of classic works that have had a seminal impact in the field, broadly construed, over time and across national and continental boundaries. The collection also elucidates enduring interactions between public policy and administration and other social scientific disciplines, such as economics, sociology, and especially political science.
Zivilisatorische Gefahren und Risiken werden oft gegenläufig zu ihrer jeweiligen Stärke politisch wahrgenommen. Besonders hohe Belastungen entziehen sich dabei der politischen Wahrnehmung, während sinkende bzw. vergleichsweise niedrige Belastungen politisch sensibel aufgegriffen und zum Gegenstand öffentlichen Handelns gemacht werden. Zur Veranschaulichung dieses als Katastrophenparadox bezeichneten Ablaufmusters stelle ich im folgenden zusammengefaßt einige bereits gezeigte Sachverhalte (Prittwitz 1990: 13–30) sowie weitere Daten, so zur Raucherpolitik, dar. Erklärungsansätze des Katastrophenparadox nach unterschiedlichen theoretischen Orientierungen der Politikanalyse, so funktionalistischen, strukturalistischen und situativen Denkmustern, sind Gegenstand des zweiten Kapitels. Im dritten Kapitel werden einige Schlußfolgerungen für die Analyse öffentlichen Handelns unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Theorie Kollektiven Handelns, des Begriffs der Handlungskapazität und des Zusammenhangs von Policy- und Entwicklungsanalyse gezogen. Smogalarm wurde in den alten Bundesländern seit dem November 1979, dem Zeitpunkt des ersten Alarms, während der achtziger Jahre mit zunehmender Häufigkeit und Intensität ausgelöst, eine Entwicklung, die sich Anfang der neunziger Jahre in den Neuen Bundesländern mit ca. 50 Alarmfällen (Voralarm) in drei Jahren fortsetzte (Länderausschuß für Immissionsschutz 1993). Diese häufige Auslösung von Smogalarm vollzog sich angesichts einer durchschnittlichen Luftbelastung durch Schwefeldioxid, den wichtigsten alarmrelevanten Schadstoff, die ca. ein Drittel der entsprechenden Belastung Mitte der sechziger Jahre betrug (siehe Abbildung 1).1
The notions of “policy learning” and “policy transfer” have become increasingly influential in the public-policy literature. By utilizing a comparative analysis of regulatory change in the railways in Britain and Germany, it is argued that an institutional approach adds to the understanding of “learning” and “transfer” processes, as well as explaining which institutions mattered as Britain and Germany adopted distinctively different regulatory regimes. The institutional approach points to the constraints involved in the selection of regulatory design ideas and, by assessing three institutional factors that structure relationships between the policy domain and its environments, suggests that in the case of railway privatization in Britain and Germany in the 1990s, it was the structure of the political-administrative nexus that centrally shaped why particular policy options were selected while others were neglected.
The first part of this article, based on a comparative analysis of recent policies on dangerous dogs among a set of Western European states, shows that small-scale events - like one dog-bite - can produce circumstances that confront policy-makers with a type of 'forced choice', given a particular set of political conditions. The second part, based on a more in-depth comparison of German and UK approaches, probes beyond the 'Pavlovian' level of political response to dog-bite crises to explore how institutions mediate responses to 'forced choices'. Dog-bite crises may temporarily remove normal blockages and constraints on policy development, but this article shows how institutions can still shape policy responses in at least three different ways.
The article explores the evolution of competing views on state, administration and governance in Germany from an historical perspective, with an emphasis on the last five decades. To understand the governance discourse in Germany one has to start from different notions of the state. The first part therefore offers a brief, somewhat polemic, overview about different state traditions in Germany in the twentieth and twenty–first centuries. The second part looks at how discourses about the proper role, the appropriate structures and processes of the public sector and its interactions with its environment have changed during the history of the Federal Republic. The analytic focus is on the different narratives about administrative policies, understood as the various scenarios, assumptions and arguments on which competing policy–suggestions for the public sector have been based. The article argues that it is not sufficient to interpret the ups and downs of different discourses and Leitbilder as more or less erratic, post–modern fashions and fads. Instead, the line up of the central catch–phrases, from democratic via active and lean to the activating state, reflect learning processes, driven above all by the political competition creating a continuous demand for ‘better’, more appropriate narratives to guide and explain current policies.
In recent years there has been a growing body of literature within political science and international studies that directly and indirectly uses, discusses and analyzes the processes involved in lesson‐drawing, policy convergence, policy diffusion and policy transfer. While the terminology and focus often vary, all of these studies are concerned with a similar process in which knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in one political setting (past or present) is used in the development of policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in another political setting.
Given that this is a growing phenomenon, it is something that anyone studying public policy needs to consider. As such, this article is divided into four major sections. The first section briefly considers the extent of, and reasons for, the growth of policy transfer. The second section then outlines a framework for the analysis of transfer. From here a third section presents a continuum for distinguishing between different types of policy transfer. Finally, the last section addresses the relationship between policy transfer and policy “failure.”
The problem of how to terminate ineffective or outdated public policies, programs, or organizations is increasingly important. This paper argues that it is helpful to conceive of termination as a special case of the policy adoption process: there is a struggle to adopt a policy A, the substance of which is to eliminate or curtail policy B. The main distinguishing feature of this class of policy contests is the activity of vested interests who are able to advance a peculiarly powerful moral claim concerning the inequity or unfairness of change.
The article provides an overview on the development and the state of policy analysis as applied public policy research in West Germany. The developmental sketch shows that, similar to the upsurge of policy research in the United States since the mid-1960s, policy research in the Federal Republic of Germany is an offspring of the reformist period of the late 1960s and early 1970s, carried by a virtual “reformers' coalition” among politicians, bureaucrats, and researchers. Due to extradisciplinary demands and also intradisciplinary shifts in research foci, public policy research became almost a “growth industry” in the course of the 1970s.
The article goes on to explore which repercussions the economic crisis, the new conservative moods and majorities and the “end to reforms” has had on the state and the orientation of policy analysis. The argument is presented that, no matter which majorities have the day, policy research remains socially and politically indispensible to detect and test corridors and “niches” for public action under ever narrower financial restraints and to identify the costs and benefits of such policies in a changing world.
This paper focuses on the role of international actors in policy/knowledge transfer processes to suggest that a dynamic for the transnationalisation of policy results. The paper seeks to redress the tendency towards methodological nationalism in much of the early policy transfer literature by bringing to the fore the role of international organisations and non-state actors in transnational transfer networks. Secondly, attention is drawn to 'soft' forms of transfer - such as the spread of norms - as a necessary complement to the hard transfer of policy tools, structures and practices and in which non-state actors play a more prominent role. Thirdly, transnational networks are identified as an important vehicle for the spread of policy and practice not only cross-nationally but in emergent venues of global governance.