Cover

What’s Your Problem?

Series

Title

Copyright

Contents

Meet the author

Acknowledgements

Introduction

So what is your problem?

The problem policy process

I’m no expert!

Policy praxis

The format of the book

Section 1 Reading Policy

1 Making claims

This is a real problem

Foundationalism

Coherentism

Reliabilism

Pragmatism

Modest claims

Dispute and agreement

Who’s responsible?

Natural causes

Individualist explanations

Social political and economic relations

Reasonable doubt

2 Equivalence and difference

Making the difference

Shaping the world

Other categories

Them and us

Drawing a distinction?

3 Legitimate assumptions

What is legitimacy?

So what is rhetoric?

Revealing assumptions

The bases of legitimacy

Authorisation – because I say so

Moral evaluation – it’s the right healthy, normal ‘natural’ thing to do

Rationalisation – because it is reasonable

Mythopoesis – the moral of the story is…

Are you convinced?

Behind the curtain

Section 2 Writing Policy

4 The role of the policy analyst

What is policy analysis?

Policy analyst as scholar

Scholar – scientist

Scholar – interpretivist

Policy analyst as technician

Policy analyst as advocate

A distinct role?

5 What do you think?

Ethics

Consequentialist ethics

Deontological ethics

Virtue ethics

So which of these ethical approaches is ethical?

Liberty, security and equality

Liberty

Security

Equality

The value of values

The politics of ethics

6 Making your case – framing

A context for communication

The way people see the world

In the frame

The struggle for meaning

Using frames

Framing the story

Information or propaganda?

Section 3 Performing Policy

7 Policy process

Model making

Expert model

Deliberative model

Crisis model

Picking up the threads

8 Power

First dimension of power – getting someone to do what they otherwise would not do

Second dimension of power – setting the agenda

Third dimension of power – shaping preferences

Fourth dimension of power – disruptive power

The pursuit of power

9 Activities

Feeble-minded policies

The control of tobacco

The piqueteros

Conclusion

Conclusion

A view from nowhere?

Reflexive policy praxis

References

Index