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SAMENVATTING BOEK POLITIEK EN BELEID (zelf geschreven boek Boin)
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- Universiteit Leiden (UL)
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Politiek en Beleid Samenvatting BoekCHAPTER 1
In most cases, people do not or cannot organize to address societal problems without a
guiding and sustaining hand. Citizens look to their governments to provide that kind of
guidance, leading the way to address these perennial problems and new risks.
Philosophers have traditionally defined this type of problem solving as a core task of the
nation state.
Governments do more than just solve existential problems and provide public goods. They
are also essential to the pursuit of ideals: ambitious goals that a society wishes to achieve.
The critical importance of policymaking
- Politicians can address societal problems, existential risks, far-flung ambitions
through the making of policy.
- A policy is a government-sponsored solution aimed to solve a societal problem or
achieve a shared ambition. It reflects an intention of government to do something
(or avoid doing something). It also explains how the state intends to address a
problem or pursue an ambition.
- Definition of policy we se: A public policy is a set of activities that a government
employs to accomplish a certain aim (Guy Peters)
- It is important to remember that policies are not always employed to change
societies. Policies are sometimes used to preserve and protect what we value
(increase airport security) or to enable what works (repairing or strengthening
critical infrastructures).
There are typically six policy types that governments routinely employ:
- Distributive policy (verdelend beleid): the state exploits a natural resource and
divides its revenues amongst the people
- Redistributive policy (herverdelend beleid): the state levies taxes on
people/businesses and gives money to the disadvantaged
- Regulative policy (reguleren beleid): aims to shape the behavior of
citizens/businesses through rules and sanctions
- Institutional policy (institutioneel beleid): state creates organizations to further its
aims
- Facilitative policy (faciliterend beleid): the state creates circumstances that enable
certain behavior
- Stimulation policy (stimulerend beleid): aims to shape behavior by providing
incentives (subsidies)
Formal policies (formeel beleid): written documents that spell out what the aim is and how
it will be accomplished
Informal policies (informeel beleid): means that a policy is more of an undocumented
custom than a formal set of rules guiding action
This book will unearth an important truth: politicians rule on paper and in principle, but
policymakers have lots of room to shape policies and the effects they have on society
,Thinking about policy success
Two things needed for successful policy:
1. Policymakers need to deliver what they call ‘craft work’ (devising, adopting, and
implementing programs and reforms that have a meaningful impact on the public
issues giving rise to their existence). Policies must be effective and remain effective.
2. A society must consider a policy successful. For this a policy doesn’t even need to be
successful.
Compton and ‘t Hart formulate four criteria for a successful policy
1. The policy is effective (state goals are accomplished) (effectief)
2. The way the policy has been creates is socially appropriate, ethically sound, and legal
(legaal, efficiënt)
3. The policy remains robust for a prolonged period.
4. The policy is considered a success by political elites and society at large. (legitiem)
Discussion about the criteria:
But how can we really know that the policymaking process was ‘appropriate’ and legal? How
does one measure the opinion of ‘elites’ (who are these people, anyway?) and ‘society at
large’? How long does a policy have to persist to be called successful (and is it possible that
a policy outlives it usefulness?).
Ethical dimension of the discussion: Who, for instance, gets to determine if a policy is
successful? Are the four criteria the only criteria that matter? Who determines which
criteria we should use to evaluate a policy?
The politics of policymaking
- Policy is one of the most important tools in the hands of politicians to accomplish
their aims
- If politics is about ‘who gets what, when and how’ – as Laswell (1950) famously
defined it – then policymaking is the process through which the envisioned allocation
of societal resources is accomplished
- It prompts a discussion whether there is a difference between political decision-
making and policymaking. And, if so, where does politics end and policymaking
begin?
- According to Wilson (and many after him), policymakers had to concern themselves
with the formulation and carrying out of policies that served the aims forwarded by
politicians. The art of administration or policymaking was to remain far removed
from the sphere of politics.
- In reality, politicians and policymakers must and often do work together to solve a
problem or accomplish a political or societal ideal. Policymakers make decisions that
have real effects on the policy and the way that policy is perceived by citizens.
Understanding how policy is made
- In this cycle, a policy starts with the recognition of a societal problem. If a problem
attracts the attention of politicians, they may decide that they want to do something
about it. Politicians then tell policymakers to develop a policy. If politicians like the
policy, they can provide the necessary resources to initiate the policy (policy scholars
call the execution of a policy ‘implementation’). At same point in time, politicians
and policymakers will want to learn if the policy is actually working. They may
, conclude that the policy is successful, which is great. Or they may see a problem,
which restarts the policy cycle.
Towards an optimistic perspective on policymaking
- To be sure, many policies qualify as failures (using the four success criteria identified
above). But many policies are ‘unremarkably successful’
- The policy world is where actual decisions about our future are made
- It is true that big decisions – to go to war, to close a nuclear power plant, to impose a
lockdown – are made at the top. But such a decision is only the very beginning of a
long process. In that process – the policy process – there is lots of room to shape the
outcome of political decisions. Without effective policymakers, a government is
toothless.
Core thesis of this book:
- Political ambitions and ideals are often vaguely worded, complex, and hard to achieve
(because of scarce resources and various constraints).
- Policymakers are critical to the success of political aims.
- Policymakers will try to accomplish these aims. In doing so, they have to make critical
decisions. This makes policymaking inherently political (in terms of process and outcome).
- While the trajectory towards success is filled with hurdles, policymaking can be, and
often is, very successful.
RECAP
· Politicians get elected on their promises to achieve certain aims. Their most important
instrument in this endeavour: policies that work.
· The people who design and implement these policies – the tribe of policymakers – have
lots of leeway in shaping these policies. They are not politicians, but their decisions have
political consequences.
· When politicians and policymakers work together, they can achieve remarkable things.
· The success of a policy is subjective and can be construed according to different criteria.
· Many policies fail in one way or another. But it is possible to get things done. This book
shines a light on both barriers and successful strategies.
CHAPTER 2
Why some problems are difficult to solve
- Every society has problems that members of society cannot or will not solve on their
own: problems such as poverty, safety, inequality, and environmental pollution.
When the intervention of government is needed, policymakers are directed into
action. However, very few policy problems are easy.
- There are dimensions of difficulty, here we recognize three.
- The first distinction refers to our understanding of the problem at hand. We can
distinguish between simple problems (the causal relation is well understood) and
complex problems (the problem is not understood at all). We speak of a simple
problem when a solid understanding of causes and consequences allows
policymakers to collect all the information that is needed to formulate one or more
possible solutions. It is the complex problems that give policymakers real headaches.
, These may be problems we have not seen before and know nothing about. An
extensive research effort may shed some light on the causes of such problems, but
that does not mean a solution immediately presents itself. Policymakers must
formulate solutions without a proper ‘policy theory’ that connects solutions with
causes
- The second ‘dimension of difficulty’ pertains to the degree of political controversy
that surrounds a problem. Some issues may be easy to understand, but they are
politically toxic (especially true in societies that are deeply divided). Political
scientists speak of polarization when the members of a society turn antagonistic in
their understanding of what should bind them together. In polarized societies,
politicians are often loath to initiate large-scale reforms to solve certain types of
problems as the public may react with dismay if not outrage. Another reason might
be controversy about the proposed solution. It may be technically feasible but
politically or socially unacceptable (vaccine mandates). Political controversy is likely
to intensify when politicians must make ‘tragic choices’ before a policy can be
initiated. Problems that are easy to understand and do not attract much political or
public attention are ideal for policymakers.
- Problems that are both complex and controversial make the life of policymakers very
hard. They don’t really know what to do and whatever they finally come up with in
terms of solutions is bound to meet with fierce opposition in the political arena.
- The third dimension of difficulty refers to the necessity of widespread collaboration.
Some problems can be resolved by formulating a policy rule. Some problems,
however, can only be solved with the active participation of all people.
Unfortunately, there are always people who refuse to do their part, counting on
others to solve the problem. This is known as the collective action problem. It may
simply be too tempting to become a ‘free rider’ (making use of the efforts of others).
The result is easy to imagine, nobody does anything, and the problem persists.
- Some scholars are convinced that the great majority of problems that policymakers
face is complex, controversial, and subject to the free-rider problem. These are not
‘normal’ problems, say policy scholars, but ‘wicked problems’
Why we see more ‘wicked’ problems
- Increasing dependence on complex and tightly interdependent systems. -> Our lives
are controlled by a wide variety of systems that we hardly understand. The exact
causal mechanisms that govern these systems are only known to experts. But even
experts don’t understand each part of the system. We’ve made things even harder
to comprehend by creating ‘systems of systems’. By connecting one complex system
with another, we have created systems that are unknowable. We have connected
and integrated these systems because they make our lives easier.
- A dynamic world. Our world is not just complex, but also highly dynamic. (changes
like demographic change, changing values and customs, shifting popularity of
political parties, new technologies, shocks to the system).
Policymaking in a dynamic and complex world: an ‘impossible job’?
- The vector is clearly pointing in one direction: the world is continuously changing,
becoming more complex. There will always be new problems that demand new
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