Policy Style Research Articles

Participation in Energy Transitions: A Comparison of Policy Styles

Stakeholder and public participation in policymaking for energy transitions is one of the most promising approaches to fulfilling the promises of a democratic sustainability transition. Over the years, many studies have been published about concepts, methodologies, and empirical results of participatory approaches and implementations. In this paper, we focus on the compatibility of participatory processes with different policy styles of democratic governance. We conducted a systematic literature search comparing different concepts of democratic governance and applying them to public participation, in particular that associated with energy transitions. Our main objective in this paper is to link the requirements for a sustainable energy transition to governance processes and structures; we further aim to delineate suitable formats for stakeholder and public participation. Our analysis provides a basis for a wide-ranging and multi-perspective research agenda that promises to provide a deeper understanding and explanation of complex governance arrangements for energy transitions. The five democratic policy styles that we selected for this review are: autocratic, adversarial, collaborative, reflexive, and inclusive governance. We conclude that none are adequate on their own, and so we put forth a novel hybrid we call the “mediative approach.” From this approach, we derive a new research framework for addressing the current challenges of democratic decision-making in energy transitions. Three pressing questions emerge, one relating to the interplay of top-down and bottom-up modes of governance; a second to the conditions for actor collaboration; and a third to the perception of democratic legitimacy by affected parties.

Words not deeds: the weak culture of evidence in the Canadian policy style

Abstract The Canadian policy style has been described as one of overpromising and underdelivering, where heightened expectations are often met by underwhelming outcomes. Here, we examine the evidentiary style of Canadian policy-making which undergirds and reflects this policy style, particularly the nature of the policy advisory system that contributes to this pattern of policy-making. We do so by assessing how the different components of the advice system, which include academics, consultants, and policy professionals within the public service, are structured and relate to each other within the overall dynamics of information management and policy formulation in the governments of Canada. Using examples from recent efforts to revitalize Canadian government, the paper argues that the federal government in particular shows a pattern of the predominance of non-innovative academic “super-users,” distributed policy shops, and process-oriented analysts and consultants who combine with attributes of federalism and partisan budgetary politics to drive a distinctively fragmented and procedurally-oriented federal policy-making process. In these processes, evidence is often secondary to political posturing and short-term electioneering in program creation and execution, contributing greatly to the national policy style set out above.

Mandatory vs. Voluntary? How to Conceive and Implement the ‘Right’ Measures to Fight AMR

SummaryThe fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) usually relies on a large set of measures, such as banning or restricting the use of certain molecules, promoting preventive approaches to animal health, monitoring antibiotic use and prescription, training farmers and veterinarians, developing quality schemes and labels, etc. These measures can be mandatory (i.e. regulations) or voluntary (i.e. private standards, professional guidelines, etc.), depending on the policy style adopted in each country: imposing the same framework of action for everyone or trying to stimulate stakeholders’ initiatives. It is however difficult to say that one option is better than another, given that reduction of antimicrobial use in livestock has been achieved in different European countries using different options. Based on a cross‐reflection from three ROADMAP case studies, this Point de Vue argues that an efficient and legitimate AMR policy has to adopt a combination of voluntary and mandatory measures which is carefully thought through and which is adapted to local contexts and dynamics.

Business and human rights as Swedish foreign policy: The soft implementation of international regulatory norms

AbstractThis article aims to explain why national governments choose soft policies in the domestication of international norms even when those norms may explicitly call for harder measures. The article achieves this aim by exploring domestic adoption of National Action Plans (NAPs) for implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The UNGPs are an international soft law instrument that calls for a mix of voluntary and mandatory policies to promote human rights due diligence, and NAPs are soft domestic policy instruments that lack the bindingness of mandatory due diligence legislation now found in several states. Most governments with NAPs have adopted them specifically as foreign policies, treating them not as regulatory initiatives but as tools for enhancing national reputations. Using a range of primary and secondary sources, the article constructs a case study of Sweden to explain why governments might opt for softer implementation of the UNGPs in the form of NAPs. It draws several conclusions: (1) governments may emulate the approach to domesticating international regulatory norms that is promoted by international organisations; (2) support from domestic actors motivates norm implementation, and the policy style selected is likely to reflect power constellations in the state and, under consensus‐based governance systems, the lowest common denominator of actor preferences; and (3) path dependency following institutional venue selection influences the type of policy developed and adopted. These findings shed new light on the reasons why international policy norms are implemented in ‘softer’ ways than perhaps intended by their architects.

“It’s just politics”: an exploration of people’s frames of the politics of mobility in Germany and their consequences

BackgroundThe decarbonization of the mobility sector is one of the main challenges in the context of climate mitigation. In Germany, as in many other countries, policy measures aiming to make the mobility system greener frequently fail to produce substantial results, not least due to a lack of support by large sections of the general public. Policy measures directed at reducing car traffic in particular are often met with indifference and resistance. The question thus arises: what basis do citizens use to form their (often negative) opinions about sustainable mobility policies? As a conceptual starting point for our empirical analysis, we draw on the frame concept and focus on people’s frames of the politics of mobility. With “politics of mobility” we refer to everything people could consider as political with regard to mobility. We understand frames as culturally mediated patterns of interpretation that ultimately motivate and guide actions.ResultsBased on interviews and focus group data gathered in the region of the city of Stuttgart (Germany), we identify two dominant frames as well as combinations of these frames by which people make sense of the activities of political actors in the field of mobility. In one frame, which we labeled “politics-as-actor”, mobility politics are interpreted with reference to politics as some kind of monolithic abstract actor. In the other, which we labeled as “politics-as-staged-process”, mobility politics are portrayed as an interest-driven, opaque process that only purport to being democratic.ConclusionsIn terms of policy recommendations, we use our findings to derive suggestions for how to increase support for green mobility policies: transparent implementation of policy measures, pragmatic policy styles and the involvement of intermediaries.

Role of institutions in public management: developing case studies for divergent policy systems

Public policy management has an intractable nature, and the institutional complexity of governance further exacerbates its practice. Transnational learning cutting across countries and policy areas can contribute to this policy knowledge in dealing with multifarious issues in public management. Understanding the institutional mix in public management in various contexts enhances the existing comprehension of how the national pattern of public management works differently in different socio-economic, cultural, and political settings. The present research aims to study the institutional framework in the form of state structure (unitary or federal) and the nature of executive government (majoritarian or consensual) in delineating the influence of institutions on public management processes in divergent policy systems. The paper undertakes four in-depth country case studies and the public management reforms as a response to institutional pressure are examined using the 4 M strategy–Maintain (holding on to existing administrative structures and processes), Modernize (keeping service delivery and regulation up to date), Marketize (efficiency and user-responsive public management), and Minimize (reducing state-led regulation). The case studies highlight the differences in the broad direction and energy of implementation that characterize a particular policy style. The results of the study indicate that even though the institutional dimensions are not present in strict polarization, the impact of the institutional mix is evident in the dominant strategies of public management reforms adopted at the national level.

Early-life experience and political leaders’ policy preference: Evidence from China’s Zhiqing officials

By exploiting both the unique institutional setting of the Chinese political system and the quasi-experimental features of a massive nationwide rural rustication movement in China during the 1960–1970s, this paper explores the relationship between leaders’ early-life experiences and their policy preferences. Based on a unique panel data set of 318 regional units from 2003 to 2012, we find that those units are associated with more generous rural welfare programs when governed by zhiqing leaders, who experienced rural rustication during their early adulthood. We further find that this association becomes stronger when leaders spent more time in rustication or rusticated in places that were much worse developmentally than their hometowns. These findings remain consistent after applying various robustness checks and accounting for possible selection biases. We interpret these findings as evidence showing that emotional attachment, cognitive sympathy, deservedness justification and self-efficacy accrued through shared life experiences during the sensitive years of adolescence could have lasting effects in configuring leaders’ late policy preferences when they come into power. Our findings lend support to the argument that a leader’s early-life experience provides useful information to predict this leader’s policy styles.

India’s Foreign Policy during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

This paper examines Indian foreign policy under Atal Bihari Vajpayee in terms of realistic pluralism. It argues that since the 1998 nuclear test, India has developed a slightly different style of realistic foreign policy as a means to achieve its core interests. It is characterized by an emphasis on engagement with contemporary challenges such as neoliberal globalization, terrorism, the issue of disarmament, coping with the changing international order, the decline of multilateral institutions, and new regionalism, etc. To deal with all these issues, India adopted realistic pluralism to accelerate India's economic development and security interests, as well as enhance its status as an emerging power in the international system by continuously promoting its cherished values. This paper explains how a party with its rightist ideology occupies power at a time when Congress fails to deliver people's aspirations. It analyses the key arguments that have been presented in this framework and the way Bajpayee put them into practice. It concludes with the assessment of Bajpayee strategies and future prospects that it will deliver for Indian foreign policy.

The determinants of thatchers economic policy

Research objective: The purpose of the article, is to determine what economic policy instruments M. Thatcher used in her economic activities, and indication which of the analyzed institutions in the light of New Institutional Economic theory (North, 2019) are factors of public acceptance of Thatcher's liberal - conservative reforms in United Kingdom and contributed to the re - election of her cabinet in 1983 and 1987.
 Methodology: To expose the impact of specific national formal institutions of a historical nature (not created by M. Thatcher's policies), and informal institutions, including the isolation of endogenous and exogenous factors determining the success of M. Thatcher, analysis of data from sources such as: IPSOS Political Monitor, IPSOSS MORI, Index of Economic Freedom, the Leadership capital index was used. In addition, key literature on the subject, as well as commentaries by experts on the life and work of M. Thatcher, were used for this discussion.
 Main conclusions: It is worth noting that elections in the UK are generally endogenous (Dubois, 2016). During the period of Thatcher's re - election, the institutional imbalance was compensated by the specificity of the British political system. Thatcher's performance was determined by the temporal matching of formal and informal institutions.
 Application of the study:. The article is intended for students of economics and all for whom the style of doing economic policy is important and its limitations.
 Originality/Novelty of the study: The novelty of the study is a look at Thatcher's policy from the perspective of NIE. Therefore, it can be the basis for contemporary analyzes of the conduct of economic policy by R. Sunak's Conservative Party.

Policy styles and India’s national action plan on climate change (NAPCC)

ABSTRACT This article assesses India’s policy style, with respect to climate change particularly the launch of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The NAPCC was India’s first significant climate policy document that demonstrates a paradigm shift from the “structural conflict” policy paradigm towards “embedded liberalism”. Policy ideas favouring “embedded liberalism” emerged from the Indian state were significant for the formulation of the NAPCC. The NAPCC was formulated due to a proactive and partially consensual policy style. The policymaking processes of “learning & puzzling” regarding a domestic climate policy involved relevant state and non-state actors and the policy idea was “powered” by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). This article explores interactions between state and non-state actors to find that the Indian government, in the context of the global aspirations of an emerging power facilitated and led the formulation of the NAPCC under an embedded liberal climate policy paradigm.

Explaining Policy Failure in China

AbstractWhy do policy experimentation regimes breakdown? And, if there are recognizable patterns of experimental failure, what might explain the variation? Focusing on aviation, finance and food safety, this article considers why a policy style that has been credited with China's successes in the past is failing to address governance challenges in these sectors at present. The article moves beyond discussions of policy mis-implementation by reframing experimental failure as a case of policy maladaptation under conditions of complexity and ambiguity. Maladaptation describes how approaches used in previous periods to foster adaptation can inadvertently make a system less resilient in the future. The analysis shows how the degree of consolidation of previously successful experimental regimes lends itself to certain types of maladaptation in the present: consolidated regimes are unable to generate policy alternatives (aviation), moderately consolidated regimes are maladapted for selection (finance), and unconsolidated regimes impede niche creation (food safety).

Transferring human emotions to robot motions using Neural Policy Style Transfer

Neural Style Transfer (NST) was originally proposed to use feature extraction capabilities of Neural Networks as a way to perform Style Transfer with images. Pre-trained image classification architectures were selected for feature extraction, leading to new images showing the same content as the original but with a different style. In robotics, Style Transfer can be employed to transfer human motion styles to robot motions. The challenge lies in the lack of pre-trained classification architectures for robot motions that could be used for feature extraction. Neural Policy Style Transfer TD3 (NPST3) is proposed for the transfer of human motion styles to robot motions. This framework allows the same robot motion to be executed in different human-centered motion styles, such as in an “angry”, “happy”, “calm”, or “sad” fashion. The Twin Delayed Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (TD3) network is introduced for the generation of control policies. An autoencoder network is in charge of feature extraction for the Style Transfer step. The Style Transfer step can be performed both offline and online: offline for the autonomous executions of human-style robot motions, and online for adapting at runtime the style of e.g., a teleoperated robot. The framework is tested using two different robotic platforms: a robotic manipulator designed for telemanipulation tasks, and a humanoid robot designed for social interaction. The proposed approach was evaluated for both platforms, performing a total of 147 questionnaires asking human subjects to recognize the human motion style transferred to the robot motion for a predefined set of actions.

Advancing the operationalization of national policy styles

AbstractWhile national policy styles have (re)gained academic attention in recent comparative public policy work, the concept still needs a widely accepted operationalization that can allow the collection and analysis of data across contexts while steering away from construct validity threats. We build on Tosun and Howlett's (2022) work and employ a mixed‐methods approach, which relies on exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. We put forth an operationalization, using Bertelsmann's Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI) as proxies, that achieves conceptual clarity and distinctiveness, informational robustness, and statistical power. Ultimately, we construct two composite indicators—mode of problem‐solving and inclusiveness—calculate them in 41 countries and present policy style classifications based on their combinations. We report the distribution of countries across four policy styles (administrative, managerial, accommodative, adversarial) and conclude with an analysis of the clusters, assessments of robustness, and comparison with other national policy style classification schemes.

Street‐level bureaucrats as policy entrepreneurs and collaborators: Findings from Israel and Germany

AbstractThis comparative paper adds to the literature by exploring the connection between policy entrepreneurship and collaboration among street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs) in two countries. We asked if SLBs, as policy entrepreneurs, promote collaborative efforts in their work. If so, in what ways? The study was based on qualitative research and in‐depth semistructured interviews with 20 SLBs in social services in Israel and Germany. Our findings suggest that as policy entrepreneurs, SLBs use diverse ways of working together, and a higher level of policy change demands a higher level of collaboration. We offer three generic types of SLB policy entrepreneurs: collaborative policy entrepreneurs, collaborative‐coordinator policy entrepreneurs, and coordinator‐cooperative entrepreneurs. We suggest administrative cultures and policy styles may shed light on the presence of types of SLB policy entrepreneurs.

Addressing diffuse water pollution from agriculture: Do governance structures matter for the nature of measures taken?

Nutrient pollution of freshwaters from agriculture is a key barrier to achieving the water quality goals of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Governance research suggests that governance structures can support the planning of water quality measures. However, it is widely unclear how specific governance structures affect the actual nature of practical measures taken for addressing the “wicked problem” of diffuse nutrient pollution. This study analyses how the extent of consensual policy styles, organizational and program integration, participatory governance, and the capacities of public authorities are related to the substance of practical measures taken (effect-vs. source-based measures) and the choice of policy instruments (e.g., sermons, carrots, sticks). Based on a comparative case study design including six country cases, document analyses, and expert interviews, we find no clear-cut relationships between the country's governance structures and the types of measures chosen or any trend of a combined effect. This suggests that, in the case of the WFD, governance structures are less important than expected or that different governance structures compensate for the effects on the level of practical measures taken and policy instruments chosen. These results question the dominant assumption that these governance structures matter (a lot) in wicked problem solving and may hint to additional context factors these governance structures are embedded in.

Policy Style and The US Policy Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rebuttal to Lawrence D. Brown’s Fomenters of Fiasco

Through the lens of policy style that we respectfully disagree with Professor Brown’s assessment of the United States’ botched COVID-19 pandemic response as being exclusively or even primarily explained by electoral concerns. Although we agree that the electoral concerns of many actors in the response were important, reducing every aspect of the botched policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic to an electoral calculus is far too narrow. It overlooks important factors, particularly the interaction between public trust in government and a country’s policy style during times of crisis.

Новый этап современной внешней политики Китая сквозь призму концептов “путь” (дао) и “конфигурации силы” (ши)

China’s diplomatic approach under Xi Jinping is notably distinct from previous eras. Instead of pursuing the road of peaceful development, China appears to have abandoned its self-positioning as a “ancient civilized country” and has grown increasingly aggressive in the international community. Western academics and journalists have even coined the term “war wolf diplomacy” to characterize this trend. However, the author contends that this transformation is unavoidable since China is in the process of discovering itself, which implies that it is modifying its foreign policy in response to the genuine demands of its own development, defining its diplomatic “dao”. One of the most significant aspects in this procedure is the “shi” and only by accurately assessing, following, and planning the “shi” can the aforementioned duties be completed more effectively and finally achieve the aim of successful rising. In this paper, the author not only discusses classical Chinese philosophical writings in order to select key points from the sages’ thought for analyzing and explaining modern Chinese foreign policy, but also demonstrates some of the more successful theoretical constructions of the Chinese school of international relations theory. The author begins the first part by debating the “Way of the King” and “hegemony strategy”, pointing out that currently China’s foreign policy applies both concepts, with the former principle assisting China in implementing the fundamental principal of “not solving international problems by force”. While the “hegemonic” strategy is largely utilized to give a powerful reaction to external challenges, as indicated by the rising number of (counter)sanctions imposed in recent years. The author wants to present a reasonable explanation for China’s change in foreign policy style in the second half of the paper. According to him, this change represents a sound strategic decision by the Chinese leadership to “act in line with the ‘shi’”. However, because the transformation is still in its early stages, it is not yet feasible to foresee the eventual conclusion, therefore the overall trend in China’s foreign policy today should be judged in a way that does not unnecessarily laud or discredit it.

The Helsinki Convention’s agricultural nutrient governance: how domestic institutions matter

ABSTRACT National policy styles and path-dependencies are affecting the abilities of Baltic Sea countries to deliver on their commitments under the Helsinki Convention. This article synthesizes evidence and insights from studies relating to the provisions on agricultural nutrient management, a main source of marine pollution. We contend that governments that are strongly concentrated vertically, while fragmented horizontally, lack capacity including with respect to informal institutions that can leverage implementation. As a stocktaking of institutional impediments to sustainable development, our analysis has wider relevance for other international agreements with Baltic Sea countries involved.

Presidents and intermediaries: insights from clean energy policy processes in Mexico

ABSTRACT We assess whether different presidents have different “styles” of involving intermediary organizations such as trade unions or business associations in the policy process. Given that temporal variation in the relationship between presidents and intermediaries can be observed, to what extent can the intermediaries included in the policy process be explained by the respective president’s leadership style and/or political ideology? We concentrate on the process by which clean energy policies were formulated under three Mexican presidents between 2006 and 2022. We draw on original data collected through 18 semi-structured interviews carried out with intermediaries between January and July 2022. Our findings show that the different presidents had different policy styles and therefore varied in how they included climate intermediaries in the policy process. This finding has important implications for research on policy styles as well as climate intermediation. Regarding policy styles the results presented call for theorizing of the dynamics observed. As concerns climate intermediaries the corresponding literature is invited to pay more attention to the political context in which they operate.

The Comparison of The United States Foreign Policy Against The Islamic World Under President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump Administration

The United States of America (USA) is an international concern, especially regarding the national election agenda. The presidential election of the world's leading superpower will impact the world's geopolitical order, such as the emergence of global political turmoil that has resulted in tensions in relations between the US and countries in the world, especially countries in the Islamic World. The 2016 US presidential election has captured international attention because it was won by a controversial figure, Donald Trump. The victory of Donald Trump to replace President Barack Obama marked a change in the style of US foreign policy towards the Islamic World. Therefore, the question arises of how the US foreign policy compares to the Islamic World in the era of President Obama and President Trump. This study uses a Foreign Policy Decision Making Theory. This study concludes that US foreign policy during the Obama administration was friendly to the Islamic World. On the other hand, US foreign policy during the Trump administration was not friendly to the Islamic World, which caused tension in relations between the US and the Islamic World.Keywords: US, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Islamic World, Foreign Policy