Guest Editors’ Introduction

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The series of papers in this issue of Contemporary Drug Problems is a collection of work emanating from a recent thematic meeting of the Kettil Braun Society of Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol. The international meeting, held in Melbourne in September 2014, was titled Policy Research: Putting Together a Global Evidence Base, and it was attended by alcohol researchers from 15 countries, including, besides Australia, the U.S.A., South Africa, Bhutan, and Denmark. The conference sought to expand the evidence base about alcohol policies and their effects by bringing together an international group of researchers on alcohol and policy as well as others interested in the field. Papers from the conference are in the process of being published as special editions in four international journals-besides Contemporary Drug Problems, they include Alcohol and Alcoholism, Drug and Alcohol Review, and the International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research.This particular set of papers were selected as a collection of historical, conceptual, and qualitative pieces from the conference. All five papers offer critiques of alcohol policy at various levels. The first two papers, by James Nicholls and Shane Butler, are critical of the policy-making process, that is, the way that alcohol policy is made and operationalized. Butler's focus is at the national level, while Nicholls's focus is at the local government level. The next two papers, by Peter d'Abbs and Carol Bacchi, are more conceptually oriented. The d'Abbs paper raises and explores the issue of drinkers' resistance to public health-oriented alcohol policies, while Bacchi is critical of the way that alcohol problems are defined and understood. The final paper, by Aaron Hart, offers a critique of the way in which alcohol polices focused on reducing consumption inadequately account for the complex social and cultural factors that influence the experience of alcohol problems. Each with their own critical view of aspects of policy making, these papers offer ways forward for the conceptualization and operationalization of alcohol problems and of the policies adopted in response.In his historically informed piece, Nicholls (2015) discusses the way in which the relatively recent inclusion of public health objectives in U.K. liquor licensing presents some opportunities for more effective alcohol policy, but also many ongoing challenges. His main argument is that the epistemological tensions between public health and licensing make implementing effective alcohol policy at the local level incredibly challenging. In reality, decisions about licenses are left to the discretion of individual street-level bureaucrats, which means the application of the laws vary widely. Other challenges include the flawed use of public health data as evidence-either because it is not derived from the local area or because the evidence is complex and conflicting-and the selective interpretation and/or neglect of data, depending on individual values, political climate, lobbying activities, and stakeholder persuasion. Nicholls suggests that the challenges of incorporating public health in liquor-licensing decision making are not easily solved, but important ways forward include the consistent collection of better alcohol consumption and harm data at a local level (and better systems of data sharing), and using public health teams more effectively in licensing.Butler's (2015) paper also offers a critical view of alcohol policy bureaucratic processes, but at the national level. A promising new alcohol public health bill in Ireland has been put forward, and Butler questions whether it represents a policy window in terms of Kingdon's (2011) three streams determining policies-problems, policy, and politics. Butler argues that the current proposed bill more closely reflects a political sop than a policy window. Firstly, while there is sufficient evidence that the Irish population drinks heavily, this is not increasing, and the high rate is not new information for politicians or the community (problems stream). …