When Do Ideas Matter?

2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES I. WALSH
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Integrated Framework ◽  
Policy Goals

The field of comparative politics has begun to take seriously the role of ideas in politics, but to date this interest has not clearly specified the conditions under which ideas influence public policy. The author develops an integrated framework that shows ideas about policy goals and instruments are most influential when they do not attract substantial opposition from voters and interest groups and when political institutions concentrate decision-making authority. The author tests this framework by examining the fates of three ideas, facing different degrees of societal opposition and concentrated authority, adopted by the first Thatcher government in Britain.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Government: The Role of Discretion for Engagement with Public Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Jette Steen Knudsen ◽  
Jeremy Moon
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Integrated Framework ◽  
The Law ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

We investigate the relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) (often assumed to reflect corporate voluntarism) and government (often assumed to reflect coercion). We distinguish two broad perspectives on the CSR and government relationship: the dichotomous (i.e., government and CSR are / should be independent of one another) and the related (i.e., government and CSR are / should be interconnected). Using typologies of CSR public policy and of CSR and the law, we present an integrated framework for corporate discretion for engagement with public policy for CSR. We make four related contributions. First, we explain the dichotomous and the related perspectives with reference to their various assumptions and analyses. Second, we demonstrate that public policy for CSR and corporate discretion coexist and interact. Specifically, we show, third, that public policy for CSR can inform and stimulate corporate discretion and, fourth, that corporations have discretion for CSR, particularly as to how corporations engage with such policy.

scholarly journals The Rights of Science and the Rights of Politics: Lessons from the Long-form Census Controversy

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Yeo
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Long Form ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Normative Account ◽  
Made In ◽  
Conceptual Resources

One of the main issues in the long-form census controversy concerned the relationship between science and politics. Through analysis of the arguments and underlying assumptions of four influential and exemplary interventions that were made in the name of science, this paper outlines a normative account of this relationship. The paper nuances the science-protective ideals that critics invoked and argues that such conceptual resources are needed if science is to be protected from undue political encroachment. However, in their zeal to defend the rights of science critics claimed for it more than its due, eclipsing the value dimension of policy decisions and failing to respect the role of politics as the rightful locus of decision making for value issues. An adequate normative account of the relationship between science and politics in public policy must be capable not only of protecting science from politics but also of protecting politics from science.

Transformation of Presidency in Italy (1978–2015)

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-47
Author(s):  
E. Bazhan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
State Institute ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Head Of State

The article reviews key aspects of the Italian presidents' activity under A. Pertini, F. Kossiga, O.L. Scalfaro, C.A. Ciampi and G. Napolitano. Special attention is paid to the comparative analysis of Carlo Azeglio Ciampi's and Giorgio Napolitano's presidency results, as well as of external factors correlating with these politicians' ratings, considering their significant influence on the head of state institute transformation during the period of their tenures. The aim of the paper is to review the examples of initiatives taken by C.A. Ciampi and G. Napolitano, which is necessary for highlighting new trends of the presidency development in Italy. Systematization and sequencing of popular approaches in the research allow to sort out distinctive characteristics of relations among three political actors: the head of state, political parties and the government. The author conducts comparative analysis of the two presidents' tenures results. The study of C.A. Ciampi's and G. Napolitano's ratings is carried out to determine a decision-making pattern. In the article, the examples of an informal instruments usage are considered, and their effectiveness is evaluated. In this respect, it is possible to review the transformation of the role of a president as an actor responsible for the country's political system stability. Relations between the prime-minister and the head of state are the subject for a separate consideration. In this article, the system analysis method together with other universal scientific approaches (comparative historical, institutional and structural-functional) are used. The contribution of this research consists of defining the role of informal instruments in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, in Russian bibliography, only limited attention is paid to domestic policy issues of the Second Italian Republic. However, the research conducted by the author should elucidate the specificity of presidency and its relations with other public institutes. This paper is addressed to scientists devoting themselves to the South Europe political research, particularly Italy, as well as to anyone interested in the Italian domestic policy issues. Additionally, it may be used in further comparative politics investigations, for the analysis of presidential activities in other European states.

Integrating Ecosystem Management and Environmental Media for Public Policy on Public Health and Safety

2018 ◽  
pp. 321-338
Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Public Health And Safety

Over the past three decades, the relationship between ecology and public policy has changed because of the increasing role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making. While earlier policy questions might have been solved simply by looking at the scientific technicalities of the issues, the increased role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making requires that we re-examine the methods used in decision-making. Previously, policymakers use scientific data to support their decision-making disciplinary boundaries are less useful because uncertain environmental policy problems span the natural sciences, engineering, economics, politics, and ethics. The chapter serves as a bridge integrating environmental ecosystem, media, and justice into policy for public health and safety. The chapter attempts to demonstrate the linkage between the environmental policy from a holistic perspective with the interaction of air, water, land, and human on public health and safety.

Integrating Ecosystem Management and Environmental Media for Public Policy on Public Health and Safety

2021 ◽  
pp. 612-629
Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Public Health And Safety

Over the past three decades, the relationship between ecology and public policy has changed because of the increasing role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making. While earlier policy questions might have been solved simply by looking at the scientific technicalities of the issues, the increased role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making requires that we re-examine the methods used in decision-making. Previously, policymakers use scientific data to support their decision-making disciplinary boundaries are less useful because uncertain environmental policy problems span the natural sciences, engineering, economics, politics, and ethics. The chapter serves as a bridge integrating environmental ecosystem, media, and justice into policy for public health and safety. The chapter attempts to demonstrate the linkage between the environmental policy from a holistic perspective with the interaction of air, water, land, and human on public health and safety.

The Role of Consumer Surveys in Public Policy Decision Making

2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Hastak ◽  
Michael B. Mazis ◽  
Louis A. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Consumer Surveys ◽  
Policy Decision Making

scholarly journals Neuroeconomics

2004 ◽  
Vol 359 (1451) ◽  
pp. 1737-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zeki ◽  
O. R. Goodenough ◽  
Paul J. Zak
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Delay Of Gratification ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Social Decisions ◽  
New Directions

This paper introduces an emerging transdisciplinary field known as neuroeconomics. Neuroeconomics uses neuroscientific measurement techniques to investigate how decisions are made. First, I present a basic overview of neuroanatomy and explain how brain activity is measured. I then survey findings from the neuroeconomics literature on acquiring rewards and avoiding losses, learning, choice under risk and ambiguity, delay of gratification, the role of emotions in decision-making, strategic decisions and social decisions. I conclude by identifying new directions that neuroeconomics is taking, including applications to public policy and law.

Feminist Perspectives on Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie D'Aoust
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
The Impact

Foreign policy analysis (FPA) deals with the decision-making processes involved in foreign policy-making. As a field of study, FPA overlaps international relations (IR) theory and comparative politics. Studies that take into account either sex, women, or gender contribute to the development of knowledge on and about women in IR, which is in itself one of the goals of feminist scholarship. There are two main spheres of feminist inquiries when it comes to foreign policy: the role of women as sexed power holders involved in decision-making processes and power-sharing in the realm of foreign policy-making, and the role of gendered norms in the conduct and adoption of foreign policies. Many observers insist that feminism and foreign policy are linked only by a marriage of convenience, designed to either acknowledge the political accomplishments of women in the sphere of foreign policy such as Margaret Thatcher and Indira Ghandi, or bring attention to so-called “women’s issues,” such as reproduction rights and population control. Scholarship on women and/or gender in relation to foreign policy covers a wide range of themes, such as the role of women as political actors in decision-making processes and organizational structures; women’s human rights and gender mainstreaming; the impact of various foreign policies on women’s lives; and the concept of human security and the idea of women’s rights as a valid foreign policy objective. Three paradigms that have been explored as part of the study of women in comparative politics and IR are behavioralism, functionalism, and rational choice theory.

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