Why do Indigenous public policies fail?

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is often suggested that public policies “fail” when they are formulated and/or implemented in contexts of diversity, specifically for Indigenous Peoples. This article uses a framework developed by McConnell [2010a. “Policy Success, Policy Failure and Gray Areas in-Between.” Journal of International Public Policy 30 (3): 345–362] in order to explain if and why “policy failure” has occurred for Indigenous public policies, using the case of Chile. Data were collected through 30 interviews and an analysis of official documents, literature, and media sources. The findings derived from the empirical analysis show (a) the usefulness of this framework to identify the main dimensions that affect the policy process and its outcomes in Indigenous policies; (b) the interdependence between policy design and the processes/programmes of policies; (c) the relevance of the cultural and political dimension of Indigenous people to prevent policy failure; (d) the little influence of the political dimension on policy failures. Overall, the article makes an important contribution to how Indigenous policies can be assessed and contributes to the broader literature on policy failure.