Welcome to Public PolicyPOLS 306 Spring 08
Lecture Two
Shafritz’ Typology of Approaches to Policy Study
(Hey, Mrs. Klein, what’s a typology?)
Approaches to Policy Study:
•Ethical
•Biographical
•Case Study
•Public Law
•Systems Analysis
•Policy Papers
•Formal Research
Ethical model
Do you know what a push-me-pull-you is?
•Do laws drive ethics or do ethics drive laws?
•One more question… - Will she ask Just War questions on the test?
Biographical studies
•Let’s play a game:
•Louisiana Purchase
–Jefferson
•Emancipation Proclamation
–Lincoln
•The New Deal
–Roosevelt
•The Great Society
–Johnson
•New Conservatism in Britain
–Thatcher
•New Federalism
–Reagan
•Do individuals have an impact on policy?
•Thomas Carlyle and the “Great Man” theory.
•Is being a powerful individual the only way to change policy?
•Good for: How and why, and good and bad examples. Not as useful for formulating new policies.
Case Studies
•Who, what, where, when, and how.
•As opposed to “who can do what to whom”…
•Common in Public Administration and Business courses!
•The goal is to “inculcate experience”.
Public Law Approach
•“Biographies” of public policies.
•Shafritz calls it regime analysis.
•William Blackstone (not to be confused with Harry) and his Commentaries on the Laws of England
Systems Approach
•The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
•Our system:
–Separation of powers; checks and balances
–Federalism
–Implementers have a role in policy making
–Judges have a role in policy making
Policy Paper
•Generated by
–Advocacy groups
–Political candidates
•May be called “white papers”
Formal Research
•Data driven
•Rational Approach
–Cost Benefit
•Academic in nature
•Adheres to tight standards of research validity and peer review
So What About the “Keynote”?
•Case study? Biographical?
–Can it be more than one approach?
•Who are Dan Balz and Bob Woodward?
–Does that matter?
•How was American policy towards terrorism “changed, operationalized and presented” after September 11th?
•What is the “Bush Doctrine”?
Do You Remember This?
•9/11 New York
–
September 20th, 2001
•“They hate our freedoms - our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other… We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all of the murderous ideologies of the 20th century… they follow in the path of Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history’s unmarked grave of discarded lies.” (George Bush’s address to a joint session of Congress following the attacks of September 11th.)
Public Policy
•What is our anti-terrorism policy?
–Can we easily express it?
–Who made it? Who changes it? Why would they change it? Who implements it?
•Page 8, Shafritz:
–A policy made on behalf of a public by means of a public law that is put into effect by public administration.
Next week:
•Chapter Two!
•The Study of Policy
•I’m progressive; you’re archaic…
•Why can’t these academics “just all get along”?
•Pluralism, elitism and plural elitism.
•Reading Quiz is on TUESDAY!!!
•We’ll pick paper topics and talk about format on Thursday.