Policy

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Dimensions of politics
 
 
 
 
 politics
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Polity
structures
 
 Politics
processes
 
 Policy
content

Policy (plural: Policies) referred to in the political science next Polity and Politics one of the three dimensions of politics. Policy refers to the content dimension, e.g. B. concrete political initiatives or goals to be achieved.

Policy field analysis or policy research is the field of political science that deals more closely with the content, development and consequences of policies (“what governments do, why they do it and what difference it makes.”).

Policy types

Policies can be categorized in different ways. A first possibility is the delimitation according to policy fields, such as B. Economic, environmental or educational policy. This distinction has the advantage that it is intuitive and easy to observe in political reality. The disadvantage is that cross-sectional problems (e.g. gender policy) and commonalities of policies across policy areas are neglected.

Theodore Lowi divides policies into distributive policies (policies in which goods are distributed without a group suffering a (visible) disadvantage), redistributive policies (policies in which goods are redistributed in favor of one group and to the detriment of another group) and regulative Policies (policies that regulate without having a direct (to) distribute effect). Lowi expects the political processes to differ depending on the type of policy. For redistributive policies, e.g. B. expect a higher level of conflict. There are extensions to this model, e. B. by Klaus von Beyme .

A third variant divides policies according to the type of control principles used. The strictest possible control principle are do's and don'ts, which result in sanctions if they are violated. Further control principles are (after decreasing directness): material incentives for certain behavior, creation of offers, persuasion and education, role model function of state representatives.

In addition, policies can result in varying degrees of policy change. Peter A. Hall proposes three levels of change: First-order change describes a change that corresponds to the orientation of policy instruments (e.g. changing pollutant limit values). The introduction of new policy instruments corresponds to a second order change (e.g. introduction of new pollutant limit values). Third order change affects the overarching goals of politics (e.g. change of priorities from economic growth to sustainability).

Explanation of policies

The creation of policies can ideally be described using the policy cycle , which distinguishes the following phases: problem definition, agenda setting , policy formulation, implementation , evaluation , termination or re-definition of the problem. Within the policy field analysis, numerous possible explanatory approaches are discussed that can influence the specific design of policies. First, there are external circumstances: socio-economic problems (functionalism), Europeanization and globalization . Second, these processes within government concern: parties and their ideological preferences ( party difference hypothesis ), policy diffusion and transfer. Thirdly, there are further factors within the political system that can have an influence: re-election considerations, institutional framework conditions ( veto player theorem ), path dependency of existing policies, the types of capitalism ( varieties of capitalism ) and power resources of organized interests (power resource approach). Furthermore, there are approaches that direct a stronger focus on the political process through which a policy came about, e.g. B. the multiple streams approach or the advocacy coalition framework.

Further meaning

In the business area, policy denotes an internal guideline or guideline that is formally documented by the company and is the responsibility of its management. In information technology, policy is important as a framework for authorizations and prohibitions.

literature

  • Catherine Althaus, Peter Bridgman, Glyn Davis: The Australian Policy Handbook , 4th. Edition, Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2007.
  • Raymond A. Bauer, Ithiel De Sola Pool, Lewis A. Dexter: American Business, Public Policy, Case-Studies, and Political Theory . In: World Politics . tape 16 , no. 4 . Cambridge University Press, 1964, ISSN  1086-3338 , pp. 677-715 , doi : 10.2307 / 2009452 , JSTOR : 2009452 (Review, Theodore J. Lowi).
  • Ken Blakemore: Social Policy: an Introduction 1998.
  • Thomas R. Dye: Policy Analysis . University of Alabama Press, 1976.
  • Christophe Feltus: Preliminary Literature Review of Policy Engineering Methods; Toward Responsibility Concept . 2008, p. 1-6 , doi : 10.1109 / ICTTA.2008.4529912 .
  • Winand Gellner, Eva-Maria Hammer: Policy research . Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-486-58674-9 .
  • George D. Greenberg, Jeffrey A. Miller, Lawrence B. Mohr, Bruce C. Vladeck: Developing Public Policy Theory: Perspectives from Empirical Research . In: The American Political Science Review . tape 71 , no. 4 . American Political Science Association, December 1977, pp. 1532-1543 , doi : 10.2307 / 1961494 , JSTOR : 1961494 .
  • Douglas D. Heckathorn, Steven M. Maser: The Contractual Architecture of Public Policy: A Critical Reconstruction of Lowi's Typology . In: The Journal of Politics . tape 52 , no. 4 . Cambridge University Press, 1990, ISSN  0022-3816 , pp. 1101-1123 , doi : 10.2307 / 2131684 , JSTOR : 2131684 .
  • Cosmo Howard: The Policy Cycle: a Model of Post-Machiavellian Policy Making? In: The Australian Journal of Public Administration. September 2005.
  • William Jenkins: Policy Analysis: A Political and Organizational Perspective . Martin Robertson, London 1978.
  • Aynsley Kellow: Promoting Elegance in Policy Theory: Simplifying Lowi's Arenas of Power . In: Policy Studies Journal . 16, No. 4, Summer 1988, pp. 713-724. doi : 10.1111 / j.1541-0072.1988.tb00680.x .
  • Christoph Knill, Jale Tosun (Ed.): Introduction to Policy Analysis. Budrich. Opladen 2015.
  • Paquette Laure: Analyzing National and International Policy . Rowman Littlefield, 2002.
  • Theodore J. Lowi: Four Systems of Policy, Politics, and Choice . In: American Society for Public Administration (Ed.): Public Administration Review . tape 32 , no. 4 , 1972, p. 298-310 , doi : 10.2307 / 974990 , JSTOR : 974990 .
  • Theodore J. Lowi: The State in Politics . In: Roger G. Noll (Ed.): Regulatory Policy and the social Sciences . University of California Press, Berkeley 1985, pp. 67-110.
  • Pierre Müller, Yves Surel: L'analysis des politiques publiques ( French ). Montchrestien, Paris 1998.
  • Klaus-Peter Saalbach: Introduction to Political Analysis . Dirk Koentopp, Osnabrück 2009, ISBN 978-3-938342-15-2 .
  • Klaus Schubert, Nils C. Bandelow: Textbook of the political field analysis . 1st edition. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-486-27284-5 .
  • KB Smith: Typologies, Taxonomies, and the Benefits of Policy Classification . In: Policy Studies Journal . 30, No. 3, 2002, pp. 379-395. doi : 10.1111 / j.1541-0072.2002.tb02153.x .
  • Robert J. Spitzer: Promoting Policy Theory: Revising the Arenas of Power . In: Policy Studies Journal . 15, No. 4, June 1987, pp. 675-689. doi : 10.1111 / j.1541-0072.1987.tb00753.x .
  • Diane Stone: Global Public Policy, Transnational Policy Communities and their Networks. In: Journal of Policy Sciences. 2008.
  • Georg Wenzelburger, Reimut Zohlnhöfer (Hrsg.): Handbuch Policy-Forschung. Springer VS. Wiesbaden 2015.

Web links

Wiktionary: policy  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education: Policy | bpb. Retrieved March 3, 2020 .
  2. ^ Thomas R. Dye: Policy analysis: what governments do, why they do it, and what difference it makes . The University of Alabama Press, 1983, ISBN 0-8173-4834-4 .
  3. ^ Georg Wenzelburger; Reimut Zohlnhöfer: Concepts and Terms in Comparative Policy Research . In: Georg Wenzelburger; Reimut Zohlnhöfer (Ed.): Handbook Policy Research . Springer VS, Wiesbaden, ISBN 978-3-658-01968-6 , pp. 23 .
  4. ^ Theodore J. Lowi: Four Systems of Policy, Politics, and Choice . In: Public Administration Review . tape 32 , no. 4 , July 1972, p. 302 , doi : 10.2307 / 974990 , JSTOR : 974990 .
  5. ↑ Klaus von Beyme: The legislature: the Bundestag as a decision-making center . West German, 1997, ISBN 3-531-12956-2 .
  6. ^ Georg Wenzelburger, Reimut Zohlnhöfer: Concepts and terms in comparative policy research . In: Georg Wenzelburger, Reimut Zohlnhöfer (Hrsg.): Handbuch Policy-Forschung . Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden 2015, ISBN 978-3-658-01967-9 , pp. 23 .
  7. ^ Peter A. Hall: Policy Paradigms, Social Learning, and the State: The Case of Economic Policymaking in Britain . In: Comparative Politics . tape 25 , no. 3 , April 1993, ISSN  0010-4159 , pp. 275 , doi : 10.2307 / 422246 .
  8. ^ Schubert, Klaus, 1951- editor. Bandelow, Nils C., editor .: Phase models and political processes: The policy cycle. In: Textbook of Policy Field Analysis . ISBN 3-11-040807-4 .
  9. ^ Georg Wenzelburger, Reimut Zohlnhöfer: Concepts and terms in comparative policy research . In: Georg Wenzelburger, Reimut Zohlnhöfer (Hrsg.): Handbuch Policy-Forschung . S. 28 f .