Survival of the Ideas that Fit: An Evolutionary Analogy for the Use of Evidence in Policy

Stevens, Alex

doi:10.1017/s1474746406003319

Cited by 85 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…There have been occasional victories for public health, as for instance the introduction of random breath-testing for motorists in 2006 but, in terms of realpolitik, the state has shown no inclination to accept in its entirety the public health perspective. Stevens (2007), in a reflective piece on the selective way in which policymakers use research evidence, has argued for the use of an evolutionary analogy referring to 'survival of the ideas that fit'. Applying this evolutionary model, it may be argued that despite their rationality the paternalistic or 'nanny state' ideas at the heart of the public health approach were spectacularly unfitted for Celtic Tiger Ireland, a country characterised as never before by neo-liberal values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obstacles to the Implementation of an Integrated National Alcohol Policy in Ireland: Nannies, Neo-Liberals and Joined-Up Government

Butler

2009

J. Soc. Pol.

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This article explores how proponents of a public health model of alcohol policy have, for more than a quarter of a century, argued consistently but unsuccessfully for an integrated national alcohol policy in the Republic of Ireland. It looks in particular at the past decade, a time when increases in alcohol consumption and related problems strengthened the case for such an integrated policy, and when managerial innovations in the sphere of cross-cutting management appeared to provide a template for its implementation. A number of explanations are offered for the refusal of successive governments to respond to what its advocates see as the only rational, evidence-based approach to the prevention of alcohol problems. It is argued that, unlike the Nordic countries, the political culture of independent Ireland has never been one in which the state could unilaterally impose strict alcohol control policies as a feature of its broader vision of the welfare state. It is also argued that during the recent period of economic prosperity (the so-called 'Celtic Tiger' era) the country was characterised by a neo-liberal policy climate, which was specifically antipathetic to the idea that the state should interfere directly in the alcohol market with a view to preventing related problems. It is suggested that the social partnership model of governance, to which many people attributed the country's economic success, created an atmosphere of consensualism within which the state as mediator between the two main protagonists (the public health lobby and the drinks industry) was unwilling to challenge the drinks industry. It is also concluded that this failure to create a national alcohol policy based on public health principles demonstrates the limitations of the cross-cutting, or 'joined-up', approach to public management in those areas of social policy characterised by clashing value systems or fundamental conflicts of economic interest. Finally, it is acknowledged that in Ireland, as elsewhere, neo-liberal certitudes have been effectively dethroned by the economic recession and banking crisis of late 2008; whether these more straitened economic circumstances will provide a better fit for the 'nanny state' ideals of the public health perspective on alcohol remains to be seen.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obstacles to the Implementation of an Integrated National Alcohol Policy in Ireland: Nannies, Neo-Liberals and Joined-Up Government

Butler

2009

J. Soc. Pol.

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“…But does it have to do with neoliberal policies? According to Butler [20], UK government fails to take action on national alcohol policies in Ireland based on principles of public health and its neo liberal policy which is specifically antagonistic to the fact that the government should interfere directly in the alcohol market with a view to preventing related problems; and this creates barrier for public health practitioners to push policies on alcohol [21]. It raises a question about who should decide the alcohol price.…”

Section: Minimum Unit Price (Mup) Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling Public Health Challenge through Policy: Alcohol Consumption and Related Harm in UK

Khan¹

2017

Health Syst Policy Res

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“…Their insights were used as ammunition in political struggles among MPs (political/symbolic utilisation) but tended to be left unused in actual policy-making. In other words, even though their knowledge was embedded in the policy process, too radical accounts were likely to be excluded (Stevens, 2007). As advocated by Walters (2003), it is clear that some scientific knowledge fits the interests of the powerful groups, while others may not.…”

Section: Mobilisation Of 'Heating' Alternatives By Social Movement Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public scholarship and the evidence movement: Understanding and learning from Belgian drug policy development

Tieberghien¹,

Monaghan

2017

European Journal of Criminology

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Debates about public scholarship have gathered momentum in several fields including sociology and criminology. There is much debate over the nature of public scholarship and the forms it can take. In criminology one of the most influential analyses of public scholarship has been developed by Loader and Sparks. For these two thinkers part of the task of scholarship is to contribute to better 'politics'. In their hands, public criminology is close to another long-running analytical trend; research utilisation. The two literatures have for the most part remained separate. This paper puts Loader and Sparks' framework of public scholarship to the empirical test to see if and how it contributes to understanding the role and nature of evidence use in highly sensitive policy areas. We do this through an analysis of recent changes in Belgian drugs policy. We conclude that the framework of Loader and Sparks, although useful in illuminating how publicly engaged scholars can influence and mobilise more open and better informed public and political debate, is hamstrung, by its concentration on the action of individuals in isolation from the complex power structures that underpin the policy process. Synthesising lessons drawn from the research utilisation literature with the work of public criminology provides a potential way forward in understand the role of evidence in policy and also producing 'better' politics in this context.

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Survival of the Ideas that Fit: An Evolutionary Analogy for the Use of Evidence in Policy

Cited by 85 publications

References 33 publications

Obstacles to the Implementation of an Integrated National Alcohol Policy in Ireland: Nannies, Neo-Liberals and Joined-Up Government

Obstacles to the Implementation of an Integrated National Alcohol Policy in Ireland: Nannies, Neo-Liberals and Joined-Up Government

Tackling Public Health Challenge through Policy: Alcohol Consumption and Related Harm in UK

Public scholarship and the evidence movement: Understanding and learning from Belgian drug policy development

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