scholarly journals The killing of Cecil the Lion as an impetus for policy change

Oryx ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 698-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Carpenter ◽  
David M. Konisky
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Panthera Leo ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Limited Impact ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
Focusing Event

AbstractThe killing of Cecil the Lion in July 2015 generated considerable media attention worldwide. We measured public interest in Cecil's death to examine the degree to which this high-profile incident represented the type of focusing event that public policy scholars often emphasize as being important for triggering policy change. Finding that public interest in lion conservation spiked in the weeks immediately following the incident, we then analysed whether this focusing event led to policy changes to restrict trophy hunting in eight countries (USA, Spain, France, Russia, Canada, South Africa, Germany and Mexico) that most frequently import lion Panthera leo trophies. The surge in public attention seems to have had only a limited impact on the adoption of significant new policy, although it may have hastened changes in some countries.

scholarly journals Do Catastrophes in Poor Countries Lead to Event-Related Policy Change?: The 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise D.P. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Focusing Event ◽  
Tools And Methods

Prompted by Birkland and Warnement’s (2014) findings that the earthquake was not a significant focusing event in Haiti, the author reassessed the issue. Using the 2010 earthquake as the starting point, a detailed content analysis of evaluation and strategy report and DRR and developmental plans to find the level of policy adopted and implemented after the earthquake. Using the criterion of event-related implementation as a proxy for event-related policy change the author judges whether and to what extent was the earthquake a focusing event. Among the findings are that not only were there event-related policy change inside and outside of Haiti. Many policy changes were significant in the way they shaped development policy, disaster risk reduction policy and practice as well as humanitarian policy and practices and the tools and methods used in planning for and responding to catastrophes. The more fundamental question is whether, once adopted and implemented, the policy changes can be sustained.  Findings show significant challenges in that regard. 

Predicting Policy Change in the House: A Longitudinal Analysis

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-384
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Hurley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Longitudinal Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Number Of Factors

If one were asked to describe the process of policy change in the United States in one word, that word would surely be ‘incremental’. Students of the Congressional process can point to a number of factors which account for delay in changes of policy; it is only recently that they have begun to examine the occasional departures from Congressional intractability in matter of public policy. This paper seeks to further our understanding of how internal legislative conditions can produce or inhibit policy change. While the first scholars to call attention to this phenomenon noted that policy changes followed critical realignments, others have made a more general case for the ability of Congress to pass important legislation, arguing that Congressional potential for policy change depends largely upon the interactive effects of both majority and minority size and unity. Policy changes have been enacted by those Congresses with large and/or cohesive majorities and small and/or disorganized minorities. These conditions often follow realigning elections, but occur at other times as well.

A Focusing Tragedy: Public Policy and the Establishment of Afrocentric Education in Toronto

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Thompson ◽  
Jennifer Wallner
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
School Board ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
School Safety ◽  
Policy Entrepreneurs ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
Focusing Events ◽  
Afrocentric Education ◽  
Toronto District School Board ◽  
Focusing Event

Abstract. In January 2008, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) voted to establish Afrocentric education. Earlier proposals dating back to the early 1990s, however, garnered little response from the board. Why was the TDSB suddenly more amenable to the idea? We argue that the death of Jordan Manners acted as a focusing event that triggered concern regarding school safety and the challenges facing Black youth in Toronto, altering the policy climate and opening a window of opportunity for change. This analysis furthers conceptualizations of the connections between focusing events, policy entrepreneurs, the viability of alternative proposals, and the catalysts that facilitate policy change.Résumé. En janvier 2008, le Conseil Scolaire du District de Toronto (CSDT) a voté en faveur de l'établissement d'un programme d'éducation afro-centrée. Des propositions précédentes remontant au début des années 1990 avaient suscité peu d'intérêt de la part du Conseil. Pourquoi le CSDT s'est-il soudainement montré réceptif à cette idée? Nous considérons que le décès de Jordan Manners a servi d'épisode marquant qui a suscité de fortes préoccupations quant à la sécurité à l'école et aux défis auxquels font face les jeunes noirs à Toronto. Cet évènement marquant a contribué à modifier le climat politique et à ouvrir une fenêtre d'opportunité propice au changement. Cette analyse conceptualise de plus les liens entre épisodes marquants, entrepreneurs politiques, la viabilité de différentes propositions et les catalyseurs qui facilitent le changement politique.

A Boolean Analysis of Movement Impact on Nuclear Energy Policy

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakura Yamasaki
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Methodological Approaches

The impacts of social movements on public policies have been studied extensively yet yield mixed results. Some results point to a strong impact of social movements, while others conclude that they do not possess any observable leverage on public policies. These mixed results may be linked to utilization of different methodological approaches. However, few studies have considered the possibility that movements may in fact prevent policy change. In this study, we argue that for high-profile policies such as nuclear energy, a low-key social mobilization is in some instances necessary for the occurrence of major policy changes. We further hypothesize that highly mobilized social movements may dampen the chance of major policy changes instead of promoting them. We briefly present the general model and the data before proceeding to the bounded exploratory analysis. This analysis raises questions about the role played by antinuclear movements in their quest for a major policy change. A theoretical explanation is then presented in an attempt to contribute to the clarification of the movement-policy debate.

Parties on the Left, Parties on the Right: Electoral Competition and Citizenship Policy Change in Europe

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
John Graeber
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Spatial Competition ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Left Party ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Right ◽  
Restrictive Policy

Abstract In recent decades, citizenship policies in Europe have changed significantly: some governments have introduced restrictive new requirements for citizenship, while others have made citizenship more accessible. What explains this variation? Despite a burgeoning literature on both comparative citizenship and spatial competition among parties, scholarship on this question remains in its infancy and primarily focused on the influence of the far right. Expanding on this growing research, this article argues that citizenship policy change results from electoral competition on both sides of the political spectrum, in conjunction with governments’ ideological orientation. Using new data on citizenship policies across sixteen European countries from 1975 to 2014, the author demonstrates that left-of-center governments facing increasing levels of left party competition are associated with more accessible policy changes, while increasing levels of party competition from the far right yield more restrictive policy changes under not only right-of-center governments, but also centrist and left-of-center governments as well.

scholarly journals Public Interest in Neurological Diseases on Wikipedia during Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-63
Author(s):  
Stela Rutovic ◽  
Ana Isabel Fumagalli ◽  
Inna Lutsenko ◽  
Francesco Corea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Neurological Disease ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Information Distribution ◽  
Research Discipline ◽  
Online Encyclopedia ◽  
Source Of Information

Infodemiology is a research discipline that investigates parameters of information distribution in order to support public health and public policy. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, is commonly used as a source of information for infodemiological studies. Using Pageviews analysis, we descriptively assessed the total monthly number of views of the Wikipedia articles in English describing main neurological diseases in the period from January 2018 to July 2020. Our results show a general trend of a decrease in interest in neurological disease-related pages throughout years and especially during the burst of interest towards coronavirus. The monitoring of infodemiological indicators shall be prioritized to reshape global campaigns and tailored advocacy programs.

Jimmy Carter, Public Policy, and the Public Interest

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-466
Author(s):  
Norman C. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Jimmy Carter ◽  
The Public ◽  
George Bush ◽  
Popular Image

By most assessments, Jimmy Carter's presidency was a failure. The popular image of Carter is that of a president who was politically naive, an inept manager, a well-meaning but nettlesome scold, and an unsuccessful leader. According to two recent scholarly evaluations, Carter was an ineffective leader who ranks in the bottom quintile of the thirty-nine presidents who have preceded George Bush.

Domestic Constraints on Foreign Policy Change in Belarus

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-55
Author(s):  
Paul Hansbury
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Domestic Constraints ◽  
Foreign Policy Change ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Policy Shifts

Abstract After 2014 the relationship between Russia and its ally Belarus was strained. Russia was dissatisfied with Belarus’s foreign policy and sought to influence the latter’s international affairs. This article considers the extent of change and continuity in Belarus’s foreign policy, and thus whether Russia’s criticisms reflect consequential shifts, covering the period 2016–2019. The analysis begins with the removal of EU sanctions, which afforded Belarus new opportunities, and ends before the protest movement that emerged ahead of the election in 2020. The study considers three policy areas: international trade; diplomacy more broadly; and foreign policy concerns for prestige. The article argues that Belarus made appreciable policy changes in response to structural pressures in the period 2016–2019, but the parameters of these foreign policy shifts were necessarily highly constrained by domestic interest group competition which prevents Belarus distancing itself from Russia. It concludes with a brief reflection on how the 2020 election protests and repressions affect the dynamics described.

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