scholarly journals Transforming Government's Policy-making Processes

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Mass Participation

We have seen a lot of very welcome progress in terms of making it easier for citizens to input their views into government policy-making processes. However, governments and citizens are now in a similar situation – after a burst of initial enthusiasm, they are not sure what to do next. Governments have struggled to get the mass participation they would like and where significant participation has occurred, have had difficulty integrating it effectively into existing decision-making processes. Citizens have been unsure what to make of this new apparent openness and where they have engaged, have found it hard to know what difference their input made. The solution is to focus on using technology to make existing policy processes more transparent and more participative rather than creating separate e-participation initiatives. The challenge for governments is to open up the whole of the policy process and be prepared to flag up very clearly and explicitly the difference citizen input made. The challenge for e-democracy advocates is to convince policymakers that their ideas can improve the existing policy process rather than simply generating more inputs into it.

Corporatism

2020 ◽  
pp. 159-176
Author(s):  
Peter Munk Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Early Retirement ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Heart Blood ◽  
State Actors

Corporatism has played a core role in Danish policy-making for a long time. Based on positive feedback mechanisms, privileged interest groups increasingly came to be integrated in the preparation and implementation of most policy decisions during the twentieth century. After the 1970s, reform policies have sharpened the political exchange relation between state actors and interest groups. Interest groups must contribute to the realization of political preferences if they want to remain privileged insiders. If they cannot or will not contribute, they risk being left outside the decision-making arena. In such cases, state actors seek to control the policy process in order to avoid mobilization of reform resistance. Corporatism’s alternative is not pluralism but more closed decision-making processes. However, corporatism is not an either/or. Corporatism is weakened in some cases but still viable in others, even within the same sector. Danish unions have suffered many defeats on unemployment and early retirement schemes and have been kept out of decisions where heart-blood was at play. Simultaneously, the unions have entered a number of agreements using traditional corporatist means of policy-making. In the same sector and involving the same actors, corporatist structures coexist with strategic exclusion. The rumours of corporatism’s death are exaggerated.

scholarly journals The European Parliament and the Layered Politicization of the External Dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Veto Players ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Fisheries Policy ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Common ◽  
Policy Fields

When the Lisbon Treaty entered into effect, the European Parliament became a core player in the decision-making processes of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and its external dimensions. This new role suggested a shift towards stronger politicization in what had previously been a rather technocratic policy field. However, the CFP is not yet marked by a clear and consistent level of politicization. I use the concept of ‘layered politicization’ to explain this pattern. Although it is not comparable to the degree of political controversy shaping fully politicized policy fields, some similar political dynamics can be observed. Among them is a transformation in the policy process due to higher ratification requirements; a higher likelihood of political deadlock resulting from an increasing number of veto-players; and a strengthening of the contested legitimacy of EU decision-making. An empirical test of these theoretical propositions is provided here in the form of two case studies; the negotiation of Fisheries Partnership Agreements with Morocco and Mauritania.

Environmental Policies for Emergency Management and Public Safety

2019 ◽  
pp. 903-922
Author(s):  
Amidu Owolabi Ayeni
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Green Policy ◽  
Or Organization

Policy refers to the commitment of people or organization to the laws, regulations, and other green mechanisms concerning environmental issues. Community participation has become important in government, policy makers, and environmentalists over last few decades, and as a result, it is now an established principle as it is widely used not only in academic literature but in policy-making documents, international discussions, as well as in local debates when considering issues dealing with decision-making to achieve sustainable development. Implementation of green policy and community participation programs through representatives—organization, groups of individuals—enhances the benefits of polices and program and adds value to policy as well as making the policy's results and responses more effective and stronger.

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.

scholarly journals Missing in Analysis: Women in Foreign Policy–Making

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-141
Author(s):  
Karen E Smith
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Policy Decision Making

Abstract Foreign policy analysis (FPA) opens the “black box” of the state and provides explanations of how and why foreign policy decisions are made, which puts individuals and groups (from committees to ministries) at the center of analysis. Yet the sex of the decision-maker and the gendered nature of the decision-making process have generally been left out of the picture. FPA has not addressed questions regarding the influence of women in foreign policy decision-making processes or the effects of gender norms on decision-making; indeed, FPA appears to be almost entirely gender-free. This article argues that “gendering” FPA is long overdue and that incorporating gender into FPA frameworks can provide a richer and more nuanced picture of foreign policy–making.

scholarly journals The curious death – and life? – of British transport policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1458-1479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Docherty ◽  
Jon Shaw ◽  
Greg Marsden ◽  
Jillian Anable
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Transport Policy ◽  
Relative Influence ◽  
Transport Planning ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Future ◽  
Deliberate Strategy

This article analyses the transport policy record of the 2010–2015 Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition and 2015–2016 Conservative majority UK governments. We argue that the style of policy making under these administrations departed significantly from that of previous decades, which had been characterised by the ascendancy of specific technical disciplines and decision-making norms about how transport planning should be carried out. Our key contention is that despite abandoning the idea of a single, overall narrative for transport policy, these governments (perhaps unwittingly) gave new life to broader debates about what transport investment is actually for and how investment decisions should be made. We interpret this as a shift away from the longstanding idea of a ‘deliberate’ strategy of intervention to a more ‘emergent’ approach, which raises important new questions about the future of transport policy both in terms of the objectives it seeks to realise and the relative influence of professional/technical and political actors in the policy process.

scholarly journals Learning McNamara's Lessons: How the War Powers Resolution Advances the Rule of Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Shane
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Military Policy ◽  
War Powers ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Military Engagement ◽  
Military Decision Making

This essay considers Robert S. McNamara’s 1995 memoir In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. First, it explores McNamara’s Lessons to understand the dangers of military policy making conducted without genuine input from Congress. Further, it argues that the pathologies of Vietnam War decision making are not likely to be unique—that is, the realities of executive branch organization and its decision-making processes are likely to re-create those pathologies when Congress is only tenuously involved in resolving the most basic policy questions regarding any substantial military engagement. The essay asserts that the values of sound military decision-making are well served by preserving a state of ambiguity as to the allocation of military decision-making authority in all by the easiest cases. To the extent, the War Powers Resolution has helped Congress to exploit this ambiguity in leveraging its own military policy making role, it has performed a useful function.

Government Policy-Making

2020 ◽  
pp. 440-455
Author(s):  
Stella Ladi
Keyword(s):  
Government Policy ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Economic Adjustment ◽  
Trust Relationships ◽  
The 2008 Financial Crisis

Government policy-making in Greece pre and post-crisis presents some longstanding features such as the politicization of the policy process, a focus on procedure and legislation rather than results and implementation, a distrust in evaluation, and a patchy participation of stakeholders and experts, depending on their political affiliation and trust relationships. The 2008 financial crisis and the three Economic Adjustment Programmes for Greece put some strain on these long-lasting policy-making features, but they did not radically change them. Not all reforms that took place during this turbulent period lasted. The conditionality attached to the programmes altered the policy agenda, changed some long-lasting policy patterns, affected the power dynamics between actors, pushed forward some reforms such as labour market and pensions reform, and insisted on the importance of targets and evaluations. The technical nature of conditionality increased the role of experts and technocrats. This chapter discusses the development of policy-making pre- and post-crisis and maps the changing experts’ landscape in Greece.

Session 15: Mindless Eating (Part 2) and Mindful Decision-Making

2016 ◽  
pp. 91-94
Author(s):  
Evan M. Forman ◽  
Meghan L. Butryn
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mindful Eating ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Conscious Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Difference

This chapter (Session 15) discusses the dangers of mindless eating, which include a lack of awareness of the amount of food being consumed and a lack of conscious decision-making. The difference between mindless and mindful eating decisions is emphasized, and strategies to maximize mindful, deliberate decision-making are presented, such as the slowing down and interrupting of automatic decision-making processes and using up or down values voting.

scholarly journals The Implementation of the REACH Authorisation Procedure on Chemical Substances of Concern: What Kind of Legitimacy?

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Klika
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Chemical Substances ◽  
High Concern ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Reach Regulation ◽  
Very High

With the increasing “agencification” of policy making in the European Union (EU), normative questions regarding the legitimacy of EU agencies have become ever more important. This article analyses the role of expertise and legitimacy with regard to the European Chemicals Agency ECHA. Based on the REACH regulation, so-called Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) are subject to authorisation. The authorisation procedure aims to ensure the good functioning of the internal market, while assuring that risks of SVHCs are properly controlled. Since ECHA has become operational in 2008, recurring decisions on SVHCs have been made. The question posed in this article is: to what extent can decision making in the REACH authorisation procedure be assessed as legitimate? By drawing on the notion of throughput legitimacy, this article argues that decision making processes in the authorisation procedure are characterized by insufficient legitimacy.

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