Quarterly highlights collection 3rd May – 31st July 2022
In this quarter’s highlights collection, we feature three articles that provide a range of insights from different contexts on the politics of governance. Continue reading
News
Why refrain from torturing foreigners abroad?: British counterterrorism and the international prohibition of torture.
Janina Heaphy
My recent article published in Policy & Politics explores why politicians would decide to restrict their own counterterrorism operations, despite a persistently high terrorist threat and little pressure from the public? After years of violating human rights in the name of counterterrorism, the UK, for instance, implemented new policies, which, at least on paper, were supposed to protect foreigners abroad from the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and its American partners’ coercive interrogation practices. Usually, such changes are attributed to a scandal, to the governing politicians’ ideology, to the public mood, or to a particularly strong lobby group – but what if all these explanations simply do not apply, as was the case for the so-called British “Principles” in 2019? Continue reading
How partisan politics influence government policies in response to ageing populations
Yesola Kweon & Kohei Suzuki
Unlike other social policies which disproportionately target economically disadvantaged individuals, old-age programs, like pensions, mitigate life-course risks that are relevant to everyone. Whether someone is lower- or upper-class, young or old, everyone ages and could experience unexpected costs and reduced income. For this reason, all parties across the ideological spectrum have a political incentive to support these programs. Nevertheless, in our new article in Policy & Politics, ‘How partisan politics influence government policies in response to ageing populations,’ we emphasize that partisan politics still matter in determining the modes of policy provision in response to an ageing population. Continue reading
Analysing boundaries of health and social care in policy and media reform narratives: the epic and tragic narratives of policy reform.
Sarah van Duijn, Duco Bannink & Henk Nies
When we wrote this blog, Ukraine had not yet been invaded by Russia. However, it would feel inappropriate to us to publish this blog without acknowledging it. We are aware that we are no experts in the field of geopolitics or international relations. However, we cannot help but remark that the strategies we found in our article have become amplified in the rhetoric that surrounds the war in Ukraine. Indeed, the epic-tragic mechanism is part and parcel of democratic processes – as we show in our article – but it is also a part of incomparably worse phenomena such as (threats of) war. Continue reading
How do policy transfer mechanisms influence policy outcomes in the context of authoritarianism in Vietnam?
Hang Duong
In my recent research article in Policy & Politics, I investigate how policy transfer mechanisms influence policy outcomes in the context of authoritarianism in Vietnam. My findings show that civil service reforms in Vietnam’s merit-based policies are influenced by both Western and Asian models of meritocracy. This makes it both closer to universal “best practices” and at the same time sharpens the distinctiveness of Vietnam’s policy. While reform imperatives urge Vietnam to seek lessons from the West, the context of an Asian authoritarian regime explains their prioritising of experience from similar settings like China and other Asian countries. The pragmatic calculations of political actors in combination with the context of a one-party authoritarian state have led to transfer from contrasting meritocratic philosophies and models through mechanisms of translation and assemblage, resulting in a hybrid of convergence and divergence. Continue reading
Policy & Politics launches new equitable citations policy
Oscar Berglund, Claire Dunlop and Chris Weible.
In support of our commitment to addressing inequities in academic publication processes that are suffered by under-represented and minority communities, as set out in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy, we are delighted to launch a new equitable citations policy. Continue reading
The Implications of COVID-19 for Concepts and Practices of Citizenship
Jae M. Moon and Shine B. Cho
Recently, there has been growing interest in the nature and scope of citizens’ roles in addressing complex wicked policy problems which perhaps has piqued during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This is largely due to recognition by governments and businesses that they cannot effectively solve seemingly persistent and intractable societal problems without active and voluntary participation from a range of policy actors, including citizens. Continue reading
Conceptualising Policy Design in the Policy Process
Saba Siddiki and Cali Curley
The study of policy design has been of long-standing interest to policy scholars. Considering the renewed attention to researching policy design in the last decade, it is an opportune time to forge new pathways for developing this critical line of scholarship. In their recent article in Policy & Politics, authors Saba Siddiki and Cali Curley seek to take stock of the developments in policy design research, especially as they coincide with other developments in the study of the policy process. Continue reading
Global Public Policy studies
Osmany Porto de Oliveira
Globalisation has helped to intensify the international flow of people, information and policies. As a consequence, there has been increasing global concern regarding problems in areas such as immigration, health, poverty, among others. Continue reading
Policy & Politics announces the 2022 winners of the Early Career and Best Paper Prizes
Oscar Berglund, Claire Dunlop, Chris Weible.
2022 prize narratives.
We are delighted to announce the 2022 prizes for award winning papers published in Policy & Politics in 2021.
The Bleddyn Davies Prize, whichacknowledges scholarship of the very highest standard by an early career academic, is awarded to From policy entrepreneurs to policy entrepreneurship: actors and actions in public policy innovation by early career scholar Maria Galanti and her co-author Giliberto Capano. Continue reading
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