Public Policy

1
Public Policy

• AP Comparative Unit VI

2
Policymaking

• Definition
• The conversion of social interests and demands
  into authoritative public decisions
• What does that mean?
• The final stage in the political process
• The point at which bills become law, or edicts
  are issued by the rulers, whoever they are...

3
Policymaking Question to Ponder

• What does it take to change public policy?
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________

4
Policymaking Question to Ponder

• What does it take to change public policy?
• A majority vote
• The approval by independent elections executive
• A decree by monarch, military commission, or
  politburo
• The choice of dictator

5
Policymaking Players and Roles

• Roles of the Institutions of Government
• While parties and interest group work at
  articulating and aggregating interests,
  government officials, legislators and their
  staffs do most of the actual implementation and
  formulation of policy proposals
• Institutions of government pass laws,
  regulations
• Government agencies Implementation (the core of
  policymaking)
• Interest groups express demands
• 2-way process
• Upward flow of influence and demands
• Downward flow of decisions from the government
• Iron triangles and issue networks

6
Power and Policymaking

• Where is power effectively located in the
  different political systems?
• Parliamentary systems
• Consociational Democracies
• Corporatist Democracies
• Constitutional Regimes
• Majoritarian Regimes
• Legislative Assemblies

7
Parliamentary Systems

• Generally are fairly stable governments
• responsible to the public will
• Advantages
• Plurality voting rules with clear party
  majorities in Parliament with a cabinet and PM
  responsible to
• Works well with countries with an ethnically and
  religiously divided population because it
  provides a consensual framework in which
  differing groups can find representation
• Disadvantages
• In parliamentary systems that are coupled with
  proportional representation (Germany or France)
  crises are common due to emergence of extremist
  political parties resulting in cabinet
  instability and breakdown

Example Great Britain
8
Consociational Democracies

• A country with vast differences along ethnic,
  religious, or linguistical divides. Instead of
  these governments being controlled by one party,
  a coalition between similar ideological based
  parties come together to form a coalition
  government or coalition cabinet.
• These nations often have a federal government
  with powerful state governments, proportional
  representation, and a rigid well thought out
  constitution

Example Nigeria
9
Consociational Democracies

• Advantages
• Stable countries where cultural and ideological
  cleavage and conflict had been intense, and party
  leaders could agree to disagree on intractable
  questions while they would build broad coalitions
  on others, emphasizing rep in policymaking by all
  major social groups, coalitions etc.
• Disadvantages
• Have succeeded in pacifying previously
  conflictual societies, but when stability has
  been attained, politicians have often returned to
  more competitive politics

10
Corporatist Democracies

• Businesses within the country help to set
  limitations on government authority
• Advantages
• Economic policy is set by deliberation and
  bargaining over wages, benefits, prices and
  social policy between top leaders from labour,
  management and government
• More power of negotiation and compromise over
  conflicts
• More technical understanding of business models
• Disadvantages
• The class struggle between workers and management
  is so threatening to democratic stability, can be
  abated by a social partnership

Example Sweden and Austria
11
Constitutional Regimes

• Systems in which the powers of various government
  units are defined and limited by a written
  constitution, statutes, and/or customs
• Advantages
• Inclusion of civil rights, such as the right to a
  fair trial, freedom to speak, publish and
  assemble, are protected against government
  interference except under specified circumstances
• All written constitutions provide for amending
  procedures, may vary widely, from the simplest
  (UK) to the most complex case
• Disadvantages
• Some have rigid amending procedures (vs.
  flexible amending proc)
• In cases of extreme centralisation of power an
  omnipotent dictator, as in HobbesLeviathan could
  arise

12
Majoritarian Regimes
X

• Power is concentrated at a single point, not
  divided as in a separation of powers system
• Advantages
• Institutions are relatively simple, designed to
  give power to the reps of the majority of voters
• Elections take place in plurality single-member
  districts and tend to produce two-party systems
• Disadvantages (not really a true disadvantage)
• Typically can only occur in a homogeneous,
  culturally unified society
• example England

13
Consensual Regimes

• These systems provide for power sharing in the
  executive, requiring that ethnic, religious, or
  regional groups be represented in the cabinet or
  legislature
• Found typically in religiously, linguistically,
  and ethnically heterogeneous societies
• Example Switzerland
• Advantages
• Designed to break up and constrain the exercise
  of powers
• Disadvantages
• The majority of citizens may not be fully
  represented because of the requirement that all
  groups must be represented

14
Legislative Assemblies

• Dates back to ancient Greece and Rome and in
  Britain back to creation of Parliament in 1295
• Almost all contemporary political systems have
  assemblies senates, chambers, diets, houses,
  etc.,
• Also may be called legislatures or
  parliaments
• Advantages
• Requires their approval for major public
  policies, elected by vote, are at least formally
  accountable to the citizenry
• 80 of the countries belonging to the UN have
  such governmental bodies
• Disadvantages
• Long terms and/or no term limits can result in
  powerful individuals who are unlikely to be
  defeated

15
Many thanks to

• Dave LaShomb, AP Comparative Institute
• ?