The Political Science Profession, Political Knowledge and Public Policy

Author(s):  
PHILIP H. MELANSON
2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 751-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael M. Atkinson

Abstract.Political scientists are increasingly studying public policy in interdisciplinary environments where they are challenged by the political and normative agenda of other disciplines. Political science has unique perspectives to offer, including a stress on the political feasibility of policy in an environment of power differentials. Our contributions should be informed by the insights of cognitive psychology and we should focus on improving governance, in particular the competence and integrity of decision makers. The discipline's stress on legitimacy and acceptability provides a normative anchor, but we should not over invest in the idea that incentives will achieve normative goals. Creating decision situations that overcome cognitive deficiencies is ultimately the most important strategy.Résumé.Les politologues étudient les politiques publiques dans des contextes de plus en plus interdisciplinaires, où ils sont remis en question par les préoccupations politique et normatives d'autres disciplines. La science politique a des perspectives uniques à offrir, y compris un accent sur la faisabilité politique des politiques publiques dans un contexte de relations de pouvoir asymétriques. Nos contributions doivent être informées par les idées associées à la psychologie cognitive et nous devrions nous concentrer sur l'amélioration de la gouvernance, et notamment la compétence et l'intégrité des décideurs. L'accent de notre discipline sur la légitimité et l'acceptabilité fournit un point d'ancrage normatif, mais il ne faut pas trop investir dans l'idée que des mesures incitatives permettront nécessairement d'atteindre des objectifs normatifs. Créer des situations de décision qui surmontent les lacunes cognitives des acteurs est finalement la stratégie la plus importante à adopter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thenia Vagionaki ◽  
Philipp Trein

This article reviews how scholars use learning as an analytical concept across the political science and public policy literature. Three questions guide our discussion: (1) What do political actors in policy learn about (e.g. ideas or policy instruments)? (2) Who learns from whom and for what reason? And finally, (3) How does learning happen against the background of organizational and political realities? Our perspective offers an original contribution by synthesizing key concepts and empirical challenges of the learning research.


1994 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 63-66
Author(s):  
David Montgomery

Ira Katznelson has proposed that we labor historians can recover our lost élan by engaging the agenda of liberalism. Although he acknowledges that today's writings on working-class history are variegated and richly rewarding, he regrets that they have become uncoupled from controversies over public policy and social change and run the risk of becoming little more than “sentimental reminders of times lost and aspirations disappointed.”To revitalize our sense of engagement he recommends that we call a halt to “the continuing flight within labor history from institutional-political analysis.” We should focus our attention on historical relationships between the state and civil society, and we should inform our analyses with the political theory that historically has assumed its shape around those relationships: liberalism.


1981 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 2-3
Author(s):  
Mary A. Hopburn

National surveys of the political knowledge and attitudes of young Americans conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress document broad deficiencies in political education in the schools (NAEP, 1973; 1976). Political science professors who teach introductory college courses can attest to these shortcomings in the political knowledge and skills of many incoming freshmen. The main response of the political science profession has been to attempt to improve the quality of the content of civics, government, or citizenship courses by developing improved curriculum materials. Two major federally-supported, APSA-sponsored curriculum projects in the 1970s produced quality textbooks for high schools and instructional guides for middle schools (See APSA, DEA News Supplement, Spring 1974; and DEA News Supplement, Winter 1976).


1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Minns

In his review article on policy analysis [Hugh Heclo, ‘Policy Analysis’, this Journal, II (1972), 83–108], Heclo describes public policy as ‘necessarily at the heart of the political scientist’s concern’. But because public policy ‘is concerned with metachoices’ – ‘choices as to how others shall make choices in whatever sphere public authority is intervening’ – ‘the study of policy therefore necessarily straddles a number of previously distinct academic disciplines’.‘However, I wonder to what extent political scientists are willing to take part in a ‘coherent “interdiscipline” of policy studies’. Heclo quotes Vernon Van Dyke’s warning that the prospect of this for political scientists is ‘appalling’.2 If we examine firstly what political science has to offer in policy analysis and secondly what policy analysis itself has to offer, I feel that Van Dyke will suddenly find himself with massive support.


Author(s):  
Mete Yıldız ◽  
Cenay Babaoğlu

This chapter examines the development and current state of public policy education in Turkey, based on the teaching of the subject in political science and public administration departments. The chapter analyses and explains the conditions under which public policy classes - among other relevant developments - have emerged and evolved over time, and the motivations of the faculty to introduce, develop and maintain public policy courses. To this end, studies on the teaching of public policy in the political science and public administration departments in Turkish universities at undergraduate and graduate levels are reviewed. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the current and future challenges facing public policy education in Turkey, and recommendations for addressing these challenges.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 368-377
Author(s):  
Akexey I. Kolba ◽  
Zalina T. Chadayeva

The article examines the problems of political institutionalization of conflicts based on the use of illiberal approaches (authoritarian and hybrid). The study is based on the concept of «illiberal peacebuilding», which is actively developed in political science and is currently used to analyze the processes of conflict resolution at the national and subnational levels. The study made it possible to determine the possibilities and limitations of these models, the specifics of the methods used and the achieved results of institutionalization. The author highlights the political and regime characteristics of the political institutionalization of conflicts, which directly depend on the prospects for using a particular model. In particular, it has been established that a set of rules and norms for the interaction of key policy actors is one of the foundations of a political regime. At the same time, conflicts are considered as one of the important factors in their change. The dependence of the direction of political institutionalization of conflicts (using their potential, limiting conflicts, etc.) on the perception of the conflicts themselves in the context of the stability of the political system has been substantiated. The liberal model assumes extensive use of the potential of institutions operating in the field of public policy. The authoritarian model is focused on suppressing open manifestations of conflict, while the hybrid model is focused on combining the norms and practices inherent in the liberal and authoritarian models.


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