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The Policy Cycle The policy cycle is a concept that has been developed out of the science of analyzing policy (see below) and is based on an understanding that, under normal circumstances, a distinction can be made between the different phases (see the schematic illustration) in the policy-making process, that is, the decision-making process that leads to the implementation of authoritative values.
The public becomes aware of an issue as a problem and, because of demands being made by certain groups and dominant values in society, this problem is defined as a problem on which action needs to be taken (problem definition). This problem then becomes a part of the political decision-making agenda, meaning that a decision has to be made as to when and who will deal with the problem and in what form (agenda setting). Then, accompanied by lobbying and political argument, the process of formulating the political position takes place within the set of rules laid down by the individual political system and by the protagonists. This process ends with the lying down of an authoritative assignment of value in the form of a law, a provision or a program (policy creation). This policy is then given its final structure during the implementation process involving sub-ordinate political and administrative protagonists (implementation). The results and effects of these policy and implementation decisions finally create political reactions of either a positive or negative nature, which, in turn, are also implemented politically and which lead to the continuation, change or end of the policy (restatement of policy, policy termination). How does this — typical — concept help? It helps first of all in structuring empirical analyses. It has also demonstrated on many occasions that it can make a valuable contribution when comparing different systems in that it helps to identify and work out a system's decision-making processes in a more differentiated and precise way. A number of similar yet different policy-cycle concepts exist within the world of political science. You will find details of an alternative life cycle on another page. The concept described there divides the political process into six phases and explains a number of the benefits to be had from using this approach in political education [... to the alternative "life cycle" text].
Policy analysis is now recognized as an important area within political science. Its focus is on political substance (policy) in all its manifestations including drafts, laws and provisions. When dealing with polices, one of the main objectives is to identify systematically the enormous variety in which policies can appear and be expressed in order to build the foundation on which generalizations can be made. Attempts to classify these differences into different categories are based on the three main dimensions, namely the impact, the regulatory principles and the nature of policies. Rather than being an end in itself for policy analysts, policy analysis is actually closely connected with efforts to identify the core influencing factors that determine the shaping of policies. Based on the premises that politics is a way of solving problems through state policies, while at he same time bearing in mind that the functional differentiation associated with the remarkably complicated nature of the regulatory framework is, on the whole, determined by the general conditions prevailing in each area, policy analysts are very much aware of what they are doing when they select individual policy areas as the starting point for determining the factors that influence policies. Policy analysts also put a great deal of effort into identifying the entire cross-section and varying nature of determinants such as structural preconditions, the specifics of how the processes work, elements of political culture, the interests and convictions of protagonists, economic factors and many more besides. Scientists draw on a large number of different theories in order to determine their importance and classification. Another core element of policy analysis is the fact that policies are analyzed from a dynamic perspective, where the attention is focused on the implementation and possible restatement of state policies rather than just on their creation. In other words, then, what we are talking about here is a cycle-orientated view, which draws a distinction between different phases that often overlap or run side-by-side in practice (policy cycle). The cycle-orientated perspective is closely connected to the other elements of policy analysis already mentioned in so far as investigations are carried out into whether and to what degree a policy changes and which factors were responsible for these changes. [Authors: Ragnar Müller and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schumann] |
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Subjects:
Human Rights I
Examples
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Democracy I
Parties I Europe
I Globalisation
I United Nations
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Sustainability
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