A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework


Book Description

Applying the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to a global range of case studies, this pioneering Modern Guide addresses how policymakers decide what issues to attend to and which choices to make or implement. In doing so it outlines that, far from being the exception, ambiguity and timing are integral parts of every comparative explanation of the policy process.




Multiple Streams and Policy Ambiguity


Book Description

The last decade has seen a proliferation of research bolstering the theoretical and methodological rigor of the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), one of the most prolific theories of agenda-setting and policy change. This Element sets out to address some of the most prominent criticisms of the theory, including the lack of empirical research and the inconsistent operationalization of key concepts, by developing the first comprehensive guide for conducting MSF research. It begins by introducing the MSF, including key theoretical constructs and hypotheses. It then presents the most important theoretical extensions of the framework and articulates a series of best practices for operationalizing, measuring, and analyzing MSF concepts. It closes by exploring existing gaps in MSF research and articulating fruitful areas of future research.




A Modern Guide to Public Policy


Book Description

A Modern Guide to Public Policy explores the many approaches and methodologies in the study of policy making that have appeared over recent decades, ranging from the examination of micro level of human behaviour to the impact of global political systems on policies and policy-making. This expertly curated and accessible Elgar Modern Guide is a valuable resource for both graduate and undergraduate students and for practitioners seeking an introduction to public policy and public management and a concise guide to research in the discipline.




China’s Evolving Policy Processes under the Comparative Lenses


Book Description

This book takes a broad approach to studying China’s policy processes. It aims to shed new light on the characteristics of China’s political systems and to adapt theoretical frameworks of policy processes developed in Western democracies to China. In 2021, Xi Jinping introduced the concept of “whole-process people’s democracy”. This new discourse calls for a deeper understanding of both traditional and new mechanisms and institutions functioning in China’s policy processes. Bringing together scholars with extensive fieldwork experience in mainland China and Taiwan, this edited volume investigates governance mechanisms and institutions of policy processes in China from different perspectives, such as mass line, Tiao–Kuai coordination, and People’s Congress. The book focuses not only on traditional topics such as agenda setting and policy change, but also on political-administrative relations, policy mix design, and delivering service contracts in communities. A comparative analysis of three social enterprises in Taiwan is provided as a case study of non-governmental actors’ (lack of) influence on policies in a context that is different from mainland China. This book will appeal to scholars, students, and practitioners interested in policy processes in mainland China and Taiwan and in comparative theories about policy processes around the world.




Social Policies in Times of Austerity and Populism


Book Description

Featuring the latest research by Brazilian-based scholars previously inaccessible to an English-speaking audience, this book is a timely, authoritative, multidisciplinary overview of social policies in Brazil during the Temer austerity and the Bolsonaro populist presidencies. The breadth of policies studied herein provides clues on the political agenda, preferences, and strategies during this tumultuous period in Brazil’s history. Divided into four parts, Part I is a conceptualization: it brings basic understanding of Brazilian social policies, explains the trajectory of the Brazil political landscape, including the growth of a populist right-wing movement, the economic crisis and the increase in poverty and inequality in Brazil prior, and the threat to democracy brought about by the disinformation ecosystem. Part II discusses social security, social assistance, conditional cash transfers, and healthcare. Part III analyzes the neoliberal strategies to social investment policies, specifically labor, family, and education. In Part IV, the authors turn their attention to non-conventional topics that are not typically included in research on welfare state retrenchment, including the environment and indigenous rights, and police violence and gun control. Social Policies in Times of Austerity and Populism is unhesitatingly recommended to all those who teach welfare state politics, comparative public policy, development studies, Brazilian politics, and right-wing politics.




Decision-Making under Ambiguity and Time Constraints


Book Description

Policy issues have grown ever more complex and politically more contestable. So governments in advanced democracies often do not understand the problems they have to deal with and do not know how to solve them. Thus, rational problem-solving models are highly unconvincing. Conversely, the Multiple-Streams Framework starts out from these conditions, which has led to increasing interest in it. Nevertheless, there has not yet been a systematic attempt to assess the potential of such scholarship. This volume is the first attempt to fill that gap by bringing together a group of international scholars to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Framework from different angles. Chapters explore systematically and empirically the Framework’s potential in different national contexts and in policy areas from climate change and foreign policy to healthcare and the welfare state.




Understanding Public Policy


Book Description

The fully revised second edition of this textbook offers a comprehensive introduction to theories of public policy and policymaking. The policy process is complex: it contains hundreds of people and organisations from various levels and types of government, from agencies, quasi- and non-governmental organisations, interest groups and the private and voluntary sectors. This book sets out the major concepts and theories that are vital for making sense of the complexity of public policy, and explores how to combine their insights when seeking to explain the policy process. While a wide range of topics are covered – from multi-level governance and punctuated equilibrium theory to 'Multiple Streams' analysis and feminist institutionalism – this engaging text draws out the common themes among the variety of studies considered and tackles three key questions: what is the story of each theory (or multiple theories); what does policy theory tell us about issues like 'evidence based policymaking'; and how 'universal' are policy theories designed in the Global North? This book is the perfect companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying public policy, whether focussed on theory, analysis or the policy process, and it is essential reading for all those on MPP or MPM programmes. New to this Edition: - New sections on power, feminist institutionalism, the institutional analysis and development framework, the narrative policy framework, social construction and policy design - A consideration of policy studies in relation to the Global South in an updated concluding chapter - More coverage of policy formulation and tools, the psychology of policymaking and complexity theory - Engaging discussions of punctuated equilibrium, the advocacy coalition framework and multiple streams analysis




The Routledge Handbook of European Public Policy


Book Description

The Routledge Handbook of European Public Policy provides an in-depth and systematic understanding of EU policies. It covers theoretical approaches on the policy process and the various stages of public policy-formulation and decision making; and discusses key questions of contemporary European governance. The handbook introduces major concepts, trends, and methodologies in a variety of comparative settings thereby providing the first systematic effort to include theoretical and substantive analyses of European public policies in a single volume. The handbook is divided into four sections: Concepts and approaches in EU policymaking; Substantive policies of the EU, including economic and social, fiscal and monetary, areas of freedom, security and justice, and external policies; Elements of the policy cycle; Themes ranging from crisis and resistance to controversies in education. This handbook will be an essential reference for students and scholars of the European Union, public policy, social policy and more broadly for European and comparative politics.




A Framework for K-12 Science Education


Book Description

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.




Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy


Book Description

This handbook offers a comprehensive transdisciplinary examination of the research and practices that constitute the emerging research agenda in energy democracy. With protests over fossil fuels and controversies over nuclear and renewable energy technologies, democratic ideals have contributed to an emerging social movement. Energy democracy captures this movement and addresses the issues of energy access, ownership, and participation at a time when there are expanding social, political, environmental, and economic demands on energy systems. This volume defines energy democracy as both a social movement and an academic area of study and examines it through a social science and humanities lens, explaining key concepts and reflecting state-of-the-art research. The collection is comprised of six parts: 1 Scalar Dimensions of Power and Governance in Energy Democracy 2 Discourses of Energy Democracy 3 Grassroots and Critical Modes of Action 4 Democratic and Participatory Principles 5 Energy Resource Tensions 6 Energy Democracies in Practice The vision of this handbook is explicitly transdisciplinary and global, including contributions from interdisciplinary international scholars and practitioners. The Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy will be the premier source for all students and researchers interested in the field of energy, including policy, politics, transitions, access, justice, and public participation.




Recent Books