POLICY

CYCLE
PUBLIC POLICY MAKING – 31 MARCH - AUAF
TODAY’S PROGRAM

• Policy as process?
• What is policy cycle?
• The policy Process Model
• Policy process in Afghanistan
W H AT I S P O L I C Y M A K I N G P R O C E S S ?
POLICY AS PROCESS

HERALICUS SENECA

No man ever steps in the same We do and do not enter the same
river twice, for it’s not the same river twice. The name of the river
river and he’s not the same man. stays the same, the water has passed
on.
WHAT IS POLICY CYCLE? A
E B

D C
• When describing ‘the policy sciences’, Lasswell distinguishes between:
– ‘knowledge of the policy process’, to foster policy studies (the analysis of policy)
– ‘knowledge in the process’, to foster policy analysis (analysis for policy)
• The policy cycle is the best known way to organise the study of policy making.
• It divides the policy process into a series of stages, from a notional starting point at which
policymakers begin to think about a policy problem to a notional end point at which a policy
has been implemented and then evaluated.
• The image is of a continuous process rather than a single event.
THE POLICY CYCLE AND ITS CRITICS

• Most policy theorists reject this image because it

oversimplifies a complex policymaking system.
• The image provides a great way to introduce policy
studies, and serves a political purpose, but it does
more harm than good:
• Descriptively, it is profoundly inaccurate (unless you
imagine thousands of policy cycles interacting with
each other to produce less orderly behaviour and less
predictable outputs).
• Prescriptively, it gives you rotten advice about the
nature of your policymaking task.
PROBLEM DEFINITION

• Define a problem
– Where you stand depends on where you sit: a person’s perspective and background determine how
s/he defines a problem and relates to it.
– Making comparisons is part of problem definition (Kingdom 1995): example, low math performance
of the US students raises the question about the quality of education
– By supplying new information on a the nature of a problem and its implications, helps toward
assessment of the scope of the problem, its causes and possible solutions
SETTING THE AGENDA

• The public and policymakers must recognize it as a problem and it must rise high enough on
the agenda that action becomes likely.
• It is not easy to reach agenda status: many issues are competing for social and political
attention
• Nonissues: problems that fail to grasp attention
• When policymakers begin active discussions about a problem and potential solutions, the issue
is said to be ‘on the agenda’
• But what facilitates the movement of certain issues onto the agenda?
POLICY FORMULATION

• Policy formulation is the development of proposed courses of action to help resolve a public
problem
• Standards for policy acceptance: economic cost, social and political acceptability
• Policy analysis is abundant at this stage: leading actors look for information and idea that will
help them pursue their goals
• Policy formulation is a technical as well as a political process.
• Who are involved in this stage? Chief excutives, legislators, and agency officials
• Interest groups are active contributors to policy formulation.
POLICY LEGITIMATION

• Policy legitimation is defined as giving legal force to decisions or authorizing or justifying

policy action.
• It may come from a majority vote in parliament or a formal executive decision
• Legitimation requires more than a majority vote such as:
– The action is consistent with the Constitution
– It is compatible with a country’s political culture and values
– It has demonstratable public support
• Policy analysis still relevant here: analysing public opinion on a policy, measuring opposition
POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

• Passing of a law by the parliament or presidential decree is not the end of the policy process but it
is just the beginning of the government activity that ultimately will affect citizens and businesses
more than they may realize.
• Implementation is a “set of activities directed toward putting a program into effect” (Jones 1984).
• At least three activities are important for a successful implementation:
– Organisation is the establishment of resources, offices and methods for administering a program
– Interpretation means translating the program’s language into language that those affected can understand
– Application is the roution provision of services, payments or other agreeed upon program objectives or
instruments
POLICY EVALUATION

• It is an assessment of whether policies and programs are working well by looking for evidence
that a program is achieving its stated goals and objectives.
• For example: did a drug control strategy reduce the number of drug users in the country?
• Policy change: should the government expand a program or reduce its scope?
• Policy change is the mofication of policy goals, the means to achieve tehm, or both.
• Termination of the policy is one of main kinds of changes
POLICY CYCLE IN AFGHANISTAN?

Influences on Agenda setting

Level of conflict Level of issue Saliency
High Crime Population growth
Low Airline safety Agriculture subsidies