Debate: What is complex government and what can we do about it?

Cairney, Paul

doi:10.1080/09540962.2015.986858

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In our article comparing policy community and Lijphart accounts (Jordan and Cairney, 2013), we 'zoomed in' to focus on one aspect of 'complex government' (Cairney, 2015) and, in this short reply, we 'zoom out' again to explain how it fits in to the policy theory literature, which goes beyond national characteristics to identify 'universal' concepts which can be used to explain 'the' policy process. 1 For us, this is more ambitious than simply incorporating the literature on (meta)governance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Theories of the policy process: What is British and what is universal? A polite reply to Marsh and McCaffrie

Cairney

Jordan

2015

Br Polit

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The 'policy communities' literature has stood the test of time because it describes a 'universal' logic for groups and governments to interact. To deal with complex government, policymakers divide their responsibilities into manageable units, and delegate responsibility for policymaking to bureaucrats, who form relationships with the groups from which they seek information and advice. Governments come and go, and these relationships vary from issue to issue, but the logic of consultation does not change. In this article, we describe this process, situate it within a broader discussion of policy theory, and use these insights to respond to the points made by Marsh and McCaffrie.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Theories of the policy process: What is British and what is universal? A polite reply to Marsh and McCaffrie

Cairney

Jordan

2015

Br Polit

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“…• Shifting policy conditions and events-only some of which are predictable-can prompt major shifts of policymaker attention at short notice (Cairney and Heikkila 2014;Cairney 2015;Hall 1993;Ostrom 2007;Weible et al 2012). …”

Section: We Will Always Identify Pbe If Comparing the Real World To Amentioning

confidence: 99%

The UK government’s imaginative use of evidence to make policy

Cairney

2018

Br Polit

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It is easy to show that the UK Government rarely conducts 'evidencebased policymaking', but not to describe a politically feasible use of evidence in Westminster politics. Rather, we need to understand developments from a policymaker's perspective before we can offer advice to which they will pay attention. 'Policy-based evidence' (PBE) is a dramatic political slogan, not a way to promote pragmatic discussion. We need to do more than declare PBE if we seek to influence the relationship between evidence and policymaking. To produce more meaningful categories we need clearer criteria which take into account the need to combine evidence, values, and political judgement. To that end, I synthesise policy theories to identify the limits to the use of evidence in policy, and case studies of 'families policies' to show how governments use evidence politically.

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“…In complex policymaking systems, policy outcomes seem to 'emerge' from local practices and rules, often despite central government attempts to control them. Consequently, there is a large literature which tries to produce pragmatic responses to deal with the limits to central government control (Cairney, 2012a;2012b;2015b;Jordan and Cairney, 2013) In that context, there are good reasons for central governments to share power and responsibility with other actors, including: civil servants have the capacity, knowledge, and networks to research and make detailed policies; many public bodies like 'quangos' need to be at 'arm's length' from ministers to achieve legitimacy in the eyes of their public; local governments have their own mandates, often possess a keener sense of the needs of local communities, and can work in partnership with local stakeholders and public bodies to produce long term strategies for their areas; stakeholders provide knowledge and advice on how to deliver policies in specialised areas; and, service users often have profound insights on the public services they receive. So, alongside fighting elections, the Scottish Government tries to produce pragmatic ways to share policymaking responsibility and encourage new mechanisms of accountability: institutional, local, community, service user (Cairney, 2015c).…”

Section: Effective Opposition Revisitedmentioning

confidence: 99%