The Politics of Policymaking
An Introduction
- Arjen Boin - Leiden University, NL
- Martin Lodge - London School of Economics, UK
Never has good policy been so important. From unemployment and a lack of affordable housing to regulating cryptocurrencies and protecting against cybersecurity threats, the challenges we face are complex and global. The text explains how policymaking works: from the emergence of policy ideas to deciding between cutting-edge solutions, from evaluating policies to improving policymaking practices, using examples from around the world.
Open up the black box of government to see where policies are made. This introductory text takes you beyond theory and into the messy world of policymaking, offering a toolkit for making better policy. Drawing from insights earned through years of interactions with policymakers and extensive teaching experience, Boin and Lodge offer a comprehensive introduction to the inner workings of government and how to produce policies that address societal problems of today and tomorrow. The Politics of Policymaking teaches you the connections between policies, their effects, and the society they impact. It explores the interplay between citizens, policymakers and politicians, and the intricate web of policy decisions.
- Reflective questions help to engage readers with the key themes and to reflect on the challenges of policymaking in practice.
- A global perspective enables you to learn from diverse viewpoints and see examples from around the world.
- Timely and cutting-edge, this book tackles contemporary policy issues—platform economies, climate change, and more - while delving into crucial theoretical tools like political legitimacy and reform.
- An assignment feature provides you with the opportunity to consolidate your learning and put it into practice.
This text is an essential companion for any undergraduate or postgraduate student of Politics, International Relations, and Public Administration and for anyone aspiring to work in public policy.
Arjen Boin is Professor of Public Institutions and Governance at Leiden University, the Netherlands.
Martin Lodge is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at London school of Economics and Political Science.
Public policy textbooks that provide insight in how public programs are actually crafted, negotiated, implemented, adjusted and terminated are extremely rare, but Boin and Lodge have pulled it off. This earthy and at times gritty gem provides its users with penetrating insights into how the cookies are cut in the real world of policymaking whilst at the same time offering them a helpful introduction to the toolkits that policy craftspeople - analysts and designers - may deploy to make sense of it all.
This lively account takes us from the pinnacles of power to the frontlines of policy delivery and everywhere in-between to illuminate the strange journey of a public policy. The craft of policymaking, we learn, lies in fathoming the journey!
book cheerleading the way for students seeking to make a difference as policymakers but not knowing where to start. It informs and stimulates – the perfect combination - in the face of a world of complex policy/political problems and solutions.
This textbook is welcome for its innovative capacity to help students navigating the complexity in policy making and, above all, for showing that Public Policy focuses on real problems and that policy makers can change the world.
Through illustrative examples, Boin and Lodge explore the politics of government policymaking – giving a real insight into how policy is made and unmade, by whom, and for which purposes. Dispensing with complicated models, the reader is presented with a refreshingly optimistic guide to how the most pressing societal problems can be solved with smart policies, and the necessary skills and knowledge to be a good policymaker.
This textbook provides an optimistic but also realistic introduction to policy making, including the myth of rationality and the role of politics and institutions. It is an excellent guide for all prospective policy makers in undergraduate and master programmes.
This book should be an essential part of any public policy course. Written by two leading experts in the field, it covers the big questions of policy making from agenda setting and success, to the moral dimensions of doing policy.
This is a terrific book, which I would strongly recommend to undergraduate and postgraduate students of public policy and/or public administration. In particular, the authors do a great job of showing how concrete examples of policymaking relate to academic theories, and vice-versa.
