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ConceptsintheSocialSciences ConceptsintheSocialSciences Series Editor: Frank Parkin H POLICY . Third Edition K “This is a welcome addition to the policy literature. Through a P o l i c y series of interrelated questions … Colebatch interestingly . unravels and elaborates on the key issues, both practical and theoretical, that constitute the field of policy studies. The C book is highly recommendable.” Professor Frank Fischer, Rutgers University, USA o “ … an excellent guided tour of the field of policy studies … l T h i r d E d i t i o n written in highly accessible, non-technical, easy to grasp e prose.” b Professor Robert Hoppe, University of Twente,The Netherlands a “This book is essential reading for all students of public policy t and policy analysis. It is a pleasure to read and covers a great c deal of important material in a comprehensive and informed manner. I warmly welcome this new edition.” h Professor Wayne Parsons, University of London, UK This new edition of a highly successful text provides an even sharper critical analysis than before of the place of policy in the way we are governed. It is a book about policy - not about what governments do P ('public policy') or about particular fields of policy (such as o 'health policy' or 'education policy') but about policy as a concept - an idea which makes sense of the way in which we l are governed, and which we can use to be more effective i participants in this governing. c y Policyis key reading for the student studying the subject, the public official or community activist engaged in making policy and the interested member of the public who wants to know where policy comes from, and why it matters. T H. KK. CColebatchis a Visiting Professorial Fellow at the h University of New South Wales, Australia where he established i the Graduate Program in Policy. He has taught and researched r policy, organization and management in the public sector in d Australia, Africa, the Asia-Pacific and the UK, and this book has been translated into four languages. E d i t i o H . K . C o l e b a t c h n cover design: Eleanor Hayes Policy Third Edition CCOONNCCEEPPTTSSIINNTTHHEESSOOCCIIAALL SSCCIIEENNCCEESS Series editor:Frank Parkin Publishedtitles DDeemmooccrraaccyy((SSeeccoonnddEEddiittiioonn)) Anthony Arblaster DDiissccrriimmiinnaattiioonn MichaelBanton CCiittiizzeennsshhiipp J. M.Barbalet WWeellffaarree((SSeeccoonnddEEddiittiioonn)) Norman Barry FFrreeeeddoomm ZygmuntBauman BBuurreeaauuccrraaccyy((SSeeccoonnddEEddiittiioonn)) DavidBeetham NNaattiioonnaalliissmm Craig Calhoun TTrroottsskkyyiissmm Alex Callinicos PPoolliiccyy((SSeeccoonnddEEddiittiioonn)) H. K. Colebatch SSoocciiaalliissmm BernardCrick EExxcchhaannggee JohnDavis SSoocciiaallSScciieennccee Gerard Delanty SSoocciiaallDDaarrwwiinniissmm Peter Dickens PPoowweerr KeithDowding RRiigghhttss MichaelFreeden FFeemmiinniissmm Jane Freedman SScciieennccee Steve Fuller LLiibbeerraalliissmm((SSeeccoonnddEEddiittiioonn)) JohnGray TThheeSSttaattee JohnA.Hall andG.JohnIkenberry KKiinnsshhiipp C. C.Harris SSoovveerreeiiggnnttyy JohnHoffman DDiissccoouurrssee DavidHowarth UUttooppiiaanniissmm Krishan Kumar SSoocciiaallSSttrruuccttuurree Jose Lopezand JohnScott PPoossttmmooddeerrnniittyy((SSeeccoonnddEEddiittiioonn)) DavidLyon IIddeeoollooggyy((SSeeccoonnddEEddiittiioonn)) DavidMcLellan PPlluurraalliissmm Gregor McLennan FFaasscciissmm MarkNeocleous CCoonnsseerrvvaattiissmm RobertNisbet SSttrruuccttuurraattiioonn JohnParker RRaacceeaannddEEtthhnniicciittyy JohnRex PPoossttccoommmmuunniissmm Richard Sakwa OOrriieennttaalliissmm Ziauddin Sardar CCaappiittaalliissmm Peter Saunders CCllaassss Richard Scase CCaassttee Ursula Sharma EEccoollooggiissmm MarkJ.Smith CCuullttuurree MarkJ.Smith PPooppuulliissmm PaulTaggart SSttaattuuss BryanS. Turner MMuullttiiccuullttuurraalliissmm C. W.Watson CCoonncceeppttss iinn tthhee SSoocciiaall SScciieenncceess PPoolliiccyy Third Edition H. K. Colebatch Open University Press OpenUniversityPress McGraw-HillEducation McGraw-HillHouse ShoppenhangersRoad Maidenhead Berkshire England SL62QL email:[email protected] worldwideweb:www.openup.co.uk andTwoPennPlaza,NewYork,NY10121-2289,USA Firsteditionpublished1997 Copyright#H.K.Colebatch,2009 Allrightsreserved.Exceptforthequotationofshortpassagesforthepurposesof criticismandreview,nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina retrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyform,orbyanymeans,electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionof thepublisheroralicencefromtheCopyrightLicensingAgencyLimited.Detailsof suchlicences(forreprographicreproduction)maybeobtainedfromtheCopyright LicensingAgencyLtdof90TottenhamCourtRoad,London,W1T4LP. AcataloguerecordofthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN-10:0335235407(pb) ISBN-13:9780335235409(pb) LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData CIPdataappliedfor TypesetbyYHTLtd PrintedintheUKbyBell&BainLtd,Glasgow To Peta who knows all about policy but doesn’t have the time to write it down Contents Preface ix Acknowledgements xi 1 Why Worry About It? 1 2 What’s the Idea? 7 3 What’s Going On? 23 4 What Is It For? 47 5 What Else Is There? 63 6 What Do They Say About It? 80 7 What Does It Look Like on the Ground? 99 8 How Do You Do It? 118 9 Where Do We Go from Here? 136 Bibliography 149 Index 166 Preface Policy is an idea which flows through all the ways in which we organizeourlife:itisusedbyawiderangeofparticipantsinpublic life – public officials, elected representatives, activists, experts, journalists and others – in their attempts to shape the way public lifeisorganized.Weencounteritinsideorganizations.Forinstance, we may find a homework policy in a secondary school, which clarifies the expectations of students, teachers and parents, or the question of when a hospital patient can go home may be governed by a discharge policy. We may find it being used across organiza- tions.Riverpollutionmaybeaddressedbydrawingupacatchment managementpolicythatgovernsalltheactivitiesaffectingtheriver. Employers,unions and technical colleges maytogetherdraw up an industry training policy. And we can see, too, that policy may be a way for activists outside the corridors of power to seek change. Activists were able to generate policy on issues such as global warming or equal employment opportunity. Butwhilepolicyseemstoimplycleardirection,thepolicyprocess seems to be characterized by conflict, resistance, uncertainty and ambiguity.Policystatementsmaybehardtointerpret,theymaybe contradicted by other policy statements, and they may not have much to do with the way governing is conducted. Or there may be nostatements,andpolicymaybesomethingthathastobeinferred from practice. This tension between clear purpose and ambiguous struggle pervades both the writing on policy and the experience of policy practice. We have to remember that ‘policy’ is first of all a concept – that is,anideathatpeopleuseinmakingsenseoftheworld–sowemust understand it as a concept in the analysis of the process of