Public Policy Analysis and Conceptual Conservatism

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Abstract
The current drift in the analysis of public policy is to devalue the analytical importance of party and politician and to question the capacity of centrally directed administration at the top to order and control policy processes, in ways which can ensure a match between intention and outcome. Instead we are treated to arguments which put increasing stress on what happens after policies are framed, with the search for answers being directed below, to those agencies, private or public, that may or may not pull together to achieve some effect. Attention is focused on the individual officials or professionals who act within these agencies, and who are responsible for interpreting and implementing policy, often according to organizational goals, interests and discretion. It is also judged to be important to place policies in the wider environment, which may set limits or place constraints on action. It is held that the appreciation of such facets is assisted by adopting a theoretical posture, derived chiefly from organizational analysis, which conceptualizes policy making as the result of complex interactions, focuses on the network through which decisions flow and the inter-organizational dependencies at work.

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