Suchergebnisse

A MYRIAD OF POLICY COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING DIFFERENT ISSUES FORM THE ESSENTIAL ARENAS IN WHICH POLICIES ARE MADE IN FRANCE AND IN THE UNITED STATES. THESE POLICY COMMUNITIES ARE OFTEN DOMINATED BY ELITE CIVIL SERVANTS AND A SELECT GROUP OF INTEREST GROUP OR BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES; HOWEVER, THEY OFTEN INCLUDE A SMALL NUMBER OF ELECTED OFFICIALS WITH PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THE AREA, AS WELL AS A VARIETY OF ACADEMICS AND MEDIA COMMENTATORS. SOME POLICY COMMUNITIES APPEAR TO REVOLVE AROUND PURELY TECHNICAL ISSUES AND ARE RARELY DISCUSSED IN THE NATION'S MEDIA, WHILE OTHERS SEEM CONSTANTLY TO BE THE SUBJECT OF POLITICAL CONTROVERSY AND ELITE-LEVEL DISCUSSION. THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS WHY SOME POLICY COMMUNITIES ARE MORE INSULATED FROM POLITICS THAN OTHERS. IT FOCUSES ON THE DEGREE OF CONFLICT PRESENT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OF EXPERTS, ON THE STRATEGIC BEHAVIORS OF THE POLICY MAKERS INVOLVED IN THEM, AND ON THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF STRATEGIC EFFORTS TO SHIFT THE VENUE OF A POLICY DEBATE. THE ORGANIZATION OF A POLICY COMMUNITY DETERMINES ITS MEMBERS' ABILITY TO DOMINATE THE POLICY PROCESS AND TO AVOID THE INTRUSION OF NON-SPECIALISTS.

IN THIS ARTICLE, THE GOAL HAS BEEN TO CONVINCE SCHOLARS OF COMPARATIVE PUBLIC POLICY MAKING THAT THE POLICY-COMMUNITIES APPROACH IS BOTH INTERESTING AND ILLUMINATING. THE AUTHORS ARE PERSUADED OF THE LEARNING VALUE OF EXAMINING POLICY COMMUNITIES IN QUITE DISPARATE CONTEXTS - EVEN ACROSS DEMOCRATIC AND AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEMS - AND HOW WELL THIS APPROACH INTEGRATES THE SEPARATE CONCERNS OF HOW INTEREST GROUPS, PARTY SYSTEMS, BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP STYLES AFFECT POLICY MAKING. IT IS BECAUSE SO MUCH DECISION MAKING IN MODERN GOVERNMENT TAKES PLACE IN AND AROUND POLICY COMMUNITIES THAT UNDERSTANDING THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND DYNAMICS IS IMPERATIVE IN THE FIELD OF COMPARATIVE PUBLIC POLICY MAKING.