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| 2. |
- Carlsson, Lars
(författare)
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Policy networks as collective action
- 2000
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 28:3, s. 502-520
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An important contribution to the policy sciences, and to interorganizational research in particular, has been the introduction of the so-called policy network approach. Despite the fact that this approach has produced a multitude of concepts, it still lacks a theoretical scaffold. In this article it is argued that simply to refer to something called "network theory" is an unsatisfactory solution. It is suggested that one way of advancing the policy network approach is to apply collective action theory and explicitly regard different empirical appearances of network concepts as expressions of collective action. Six tentative building blocks of such a theory are suggested. it is further argued that the policy network approach would benefit from incorporation into a broader analytical framework such as the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. Finally, it is concluded that such an incorporation would advance our ability to understand the processes of policymaking and thus to fulfill one of the old commitments of policy analysis, namely to contribute to the refinement of policy making processes in society.
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| 3. |
- Lundin, Martin
(författare)
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When Does Cooperation Improve Public Policy Implementation?
- 2007
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 35:4, s. 629-652
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Interorganizational cooperation is often considered valuable in the public sector. However, in this article it is suggested that the impact of cooperation on public policy implementation is dependent on the type of policy being carried out. It is argued that complex policies are more effectively put into practice if agencies cooperate a lot, whereas less difficult tasks are handled just as well without interorganizational cooperation. Thus, two policies within the Swedish active labor market policy are examined. The empirical test focuses on the cooperation between Public Employment Service offices and municipal labor market administrations. In agreement with the hypothesis, the findings suggest that policy matters. The implementation of one of the policies - the complex policy - is enhanced if cooperation between agencies increase. On the other hand, cooperation does not improve implementation of the less complex task. The study is based on quantitative data.
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| 4. |
- Matti, Simon, et al.
(författare)
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The Rationale Determining Advocacy Coalitions : Examining Coordination Networks and Corresponding Beliefs
- 2011
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 39:3, s. 385-410
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The contemporary trend within natural resource governance sees a strong increase in collaborative management. A successful turnout of these arrangements is, however, dependent upon the formation and characteristics of advocacy coalitions. Uncovering the rationale determining coalitions is therefore a key undertaking in policy analysis and the advocacy coalition framework (ACF) has been widely applied for this purpose. This article aspires to test several important hypotheses regarding the nature of coordination networks and the formation of coalitions, treating the ACF both as an inspiration and as a framework in need of further refinement. This is done in the context of a complex and conflict-ridden policy subsystem: the Swedish carnivore-management subsystem. The results indicate, firstly, that perceived belief correspondence, and not perceived influence, is the driving mechanism behind coordination; and, secondly, that the catalog of beliefs shared by actors within a coalition is composed by policy core beliefs, in particular, with a more normative content, while no connection between deep core beliefs and coordination is found.
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| 5. |
- Nohrstedt, Daniel
(författare)
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Shifting Resources and Venues Producing Policy Change in Contested Subsystems : A Case Study of Swedish Signals Intelligence Policy
- 2011
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 39:3, s. 461-484
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the last decade and across countries, changes in national intelligence policies have spurred wide-spread political opposition and public protest. Instances of intelligence policy change warrant close academic attention to cast light on the dynamics of policymaking in contested policy areas. In an effort to contribute to further development of a theory of policy change within the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), this article analyzes the adoption of legislation in Sweden to expand the mandate for signals intelligence gathering. Three explanatory variables are derived from the ACF to explain policy change in this case: shifts in advocacy coalition membership, distribution of coalition resources, and access to policy venues. Whereas shifts in coalition membership were unrelated to policy change in this case, the case-study lends partial support to the role of resource distribution and policy venues. To promote the progress of an ACF theory of policy change, the study concludes by drawing two theoretical implications: (i) introducing hierarchical classification of coalition resources and (ii) identification of revised policy narratives and exploitative policy entrepreneurship as causal mechanisms linking external shocks to venue shifts and policy change.
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| 6. |
- Nohrstedt, Daniel
(författare)
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The Politics of Crisis Policymaking : Chernobyl and Swedish Nuclear Energy Policy
- 2008
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 36:2, s. 257-278
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Public policy scholars often accentuate the key role of crises in explaining policy change; however, much empirical work still remains to be done in order to explain crisis-induced policy outcomes. This article explores the prediction of the Advocacy Coalition Framework that stable coalitions and impediments to learning reduce the likelihood for policy change after a crisis. Strategic action is emphasized as a supplementary variable focusing on the role of political motivations in post-crisis policymaking. Sweden's decision not to accelerate the nuclear power phaseout following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster provides a case study to assess the utility of these explanations. Findings corroborate theoretical expectations about stable minority coalitions, cast doubts over the presumed rigidity of policy core beliefs, and emphasize strategic action and cognitive heuristics as important motivations for policy choice. The article concludes by outlining three sector-specific variables (ideological salience, level of conflict, and previous crisis experiences) that add to the explanation of crisis-induced policy outcomes.
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| 7. |
- Sandström, Annica, et al.
(författare)
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The performance of policy networks : the relation between network structure and network performance
- 2008
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 36:4, s. 497-524
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The importance of policy networks has long been emphasized within the field of policy analysis. However, few attempts have been made to investigate the explanatory power of policy networks using the tools and theoretical concepts provided by social network analysis (SNA). This paper aims to address this need by determining if a relationship exists between the structural features of policy networks, their organizing capacities, and their performance. A comparative case study of four networks within the higher education policy sector confirms the assumption related to the existence of such a relation. It is proposed that an efficient and innovative policy network consists of a heterogeneous set of actors that are centrally and densely integrated. Furthermore, while the level of network heterogeneity is positively related to the function of resource mobilization in the process of policymaking, the level of centralized integration promotes the function of prioritizing. These findings are believed to contribute to our understanding of policymaking in contemporary society. The current paper indicates that a significant explanatory power exists in the concept of policy networks and that SNA is one way of advancing its possibilities.
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| 8. |
- Sandström, Annica, et al.
(författare)
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The performance of policy networks : the relation between network structure and network performance
- 2008
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 36:4, s. 497-524
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The importance of policy networks has long been emphasized within the field of policy analysis. However, few attempts have been made to investigate the explanatory power of policy networks using the tools and theoretical concepts provided by social network analysis (SNA). This paper aims to address this need by determining if a relationship exists between the structural features of policy networks, their organizing capacities, and their performance. A comparative case study of four networks within the higher education policy sector confirms the assumption related to the existence of such a relation. It is proposed that an efficient and innovative policy network consists of a heterogeneous set of actors that are centrally and densely integrated. Furthermore, while the level of network heterogeneity is positively related to the function of resource mobilization in the process of policymaking, the level of centralized integration promotes the function of prioritizing. These findings are believed to contribute to our understanding of policymaking in contemporary society. The current paper indicates that a significant explanatory power exists in the concept of policy networks and that SNA is one way of advancing its possibilities.
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| 9. |
- Bendz, Anna, 1967
(författare)
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Paying Attention to Politics. Public Responsiveness and Welfare Policy Change.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 43:3, s. 309-332
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order for the democratic process to work properly, it is vital that the public pays attention to politics and signals its opinions and preferences back to its representatives; if this is not the case, representatives have less incentive to represent. This article deals with the question of whether and how the public responds to welfare policy change. The thermostatic model departs from the assumption that the public responds to policy change with negative feedback, in relation to its preferred level of policy. The empirical analysis tests this model on public responses following the implementation of a consumer’s choice model in Swedish primary health care. Did the reform trigger a thermostatic response from the public, and how should this be interpreted? A contribution in relation to previous research is the inclusion of ideological orientation and proximity, variables which, I argue, condition the nature and direction of public responsiveness. The study was designed as a natural experiment in which preferences of privatization of health care were measured before and after the health care reform of 2009/2010. The results provide partial support for the thermostatic model: preferences for further privatization decrease after the reform, but primarily within one subgroup. Additionally, public responses are demonstrated to vary according to ideological orientation, where the right-oriented react thermostatically and the left-oriented do not. The article contributes to a further understanding of the relation between policy making and public opinion and to the expansion of thermostatic theory.
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| 10. |
- Bodin, Örjan, et al.
(författare)
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Collaborative Networks for Effective Ecosystem-Based Management : A Set of Working Hypotheses
- 2017
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Ingår i: Policy Studies Journal. - : Wiley. - 0190-292X .- 1541-0072. ; 45:2, s. 289-314
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecosystem-based management (EBM) represents a comprehensive approach to better govern the environment that also illustrates the collaborative trend in policy and public administration. The need for stakeholder involvement and collaboration is strongly articulated, yet how and for what purposes collaboration would be effective remains largely untested. We address this gap by developing and evaluating a set of hypotheses specifying how certain patterns of collaborations among actors affect their joint ability to accomplish EBM. Content analyses of management plans drawn from five EBM planning processes in Sweden are combined with analyses of the collaborative networks through which these plans have been developed. Our results indicate that system thinking and the ability to integrate across different management phases are favored by collaborations between different kinds of actors, and by project leaders being centrally located in the networks. We also find that dense substructures of collaboration increase the level of specificity in the plans in regards to explicating constraints on human activities. Having many collaborative ties does however not enhance the overall level of specificity. Our results also show that different network characteristics can give rise to similar EBM outcomes. This observed equifinality suggests there is no single blueprint for well-performing collaborative networks.
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