Policy network

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Political network is a political science term used to research lobbying and political interests.

Definition and demarcation

Network concepts occupy an important place in current lobbyism and interest research . They process the interaction of organized actors in the political process. They also take into account the fluid boundaries between public and private space. The paradigm dispute between pluralism and corporatism does not reach them. Network theories grew out of the simple idea that everything is interrelated. In networks, people and organizations maintain relationships with other actors. These connections make a braid more economical, social and political relationships. The political networks have their origins in elite research and in the study of interorganizational relationships. In addition, they also refer to the newer institutional economy.

Origin USA

In the United States, research into political networks began as early as the 1950s and 1960s. Harry S. Truman described such a "web of relationships" in a study of the US government process. However, Truman has not yet developed a network theory from this. It was merely a component of the pluralism theory, which, however, showed network-like structures.

Example USA

As a preliminary stage to network analysis, ideas about existing “subgovernments” can be understood. The “subgovernment” is constituted as a “cluster” of actors who move within a defined political area. The actors in "subgovernment" are linked by close and lasting relationships. These actors include members of parliament, their employees, ministerial officials and representatives of associations. These relationships are also known as "iron triangles". They are being watched in the US system of government. A congress committee , an interest group and a federal agency enter into such close relationships with one another that no actor is in a position to implement political decisions without cooperation with the rest. The further development of the idea of ​​“subgovernment” has become network theory.

Attempted explanation

The network approach tries to explain why and how actors interact. The exchange of information necessary for political action plays a central role in this interaction. Socially relevant measures are increasingly discussed in the interaction between state and non-state actors. This interaction is based on mutual resource dependencies. When shaping politics, the political actors are dependent on cooperation with actors who have power potential (usually information). The network approach can map the dependencies and interdependencies between actors and examine them over time. The type and extent of networking can be determined by looking at a policy at a specific point in time.

Delimitation of legal structures

Networks are largely detached from constitutional or organizational structures. The network approach has nothing in mind with the idea of ​​a central political stage. “Government action” is no longer the focus of the investigation of political processes. The concept of policy networks, on the other hand, describes an actual change in the political decision-making structures much more clearly according to the prevailing understanding today.

There are different types of network concepts. The best-known models are: "policy communities", "policy networks" and "issue networks". The different network theory (DFN theory) according to Bockstette is based on this. It enables the entire context of an international mediation of interests (lobbying) to be grasped.

literature

  • Bockstette, Carsten: Corporate interests, network structures and the emergence of a European defense industry. A case study using the example of the founding of the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company (EADS), Dr. Kovač publishing house 2003.
  • Volker Schneider, Frank Janning (Ed.): Political networks . 1st edition. VS Verl. Für Sozialwiss, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-531-16401-4 .
  • Knoke, David / Pappi, Franz / Broadbent, Jeffrey / Yutaka Tsujinaka: Comparing Policy Networks. Labor Politics in the US, Germany, and Japan, Cambridge University Press 1996
  • Laumann, Edward / Knoke, David: The Organizational State: A Perspective on National Energy and Health Domains, University of Wisconsin Press 1987
  • Alexander-Kenneth Nagel: Political Networks and Political Control. Institutional change using the example of the Bologna process . 1st edition. Campus, Frankfurt a. M 2009, ISBN 978-3-593-39039-0 .