Understanding Policy Change as an Epistemological and Theoretical Problem

Abstract

Change is the fundamental focus of those who are interested in studying public policy. As a result of the multidimensional nature of policy dynamics, policy change is a very ambiguous area of academic study, and one full of pitfalls. All aspects of policy change have been dealt with, all the possible independent variables have been examined (ideas, interests, institutions, socio-economic structures, political institutions, internationalization, individual entrepreneurship, social culture and values, and so on), and a great many theoretical frameworks, combining diverse causal mechanisms, have been proposed. However, when choosing certain independent variables, or the specific design of the dependent variable, or a particular sequence of causal factors, policy scholars make a series of strong epistemological and theoretical choices which they are often not conscious of (as revealed by the fact that their frameworks and theories may be incoherent and characterized by evident shortcomings). In this paper, I am going to present the kind of analytical questions which need to be resolved from the epistemological and theoretical points of view, in order to grasp the essence of policy change and the potential consequences of the aforesaid choices. I shall then review the way in which the most important policy/change frameworks (Multiple Stream Approach, Punctuated Equilibrium Framework, Advocacy Coalition Framework, and Path Dependency Framework) have attempted to solve the epistemological and theoretical puzzle, the degree to which they are coherent, and the pros and cons of the solutions they adopt. Finally, I conclude by presenting a number of recommendations for further theoretical reflection and empirical investigation regarding the epistemological and theoretical coherence and effectiveness of theories of policy change.