POLICY EVALUATION. DEMOCRATIC THEORY. AND THE DIVISION OF SCHOLARLY LABOR

The implicit priorities of political science have been inhospitable to policy evaluation as a scholarly endeavor. Political science, at least as practiced in the West, draws from a philosophic tradition that views political life, and especially democratic political life, as a public objective, not principally as instrumental for other social ends. Comparative policy analysis deviated from that tradition by treating political conditions as independent variables. Policy evaluation, which assesses the social consequences of governmental actions, deviated even further, adopting an explicitly and totally instrumental approach. The argument ofthis essay is that the tactics of policy evaluation should be adopted for assessing the impact of policy patterns on democratic institutions and citizenship. This recommendation flows from a diagnosis of the division of labor in policy evaluation and an identification of the optimum entry points for political science.     

SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES AND POLICY RESEARCH: THE CASE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

It has been argued that social science disciplines influence their members policy research via theoretical focus, methods, norms, and system maintenance mechanisms and that these forces inhibit the usefulness of policy research for policy-making. Political science is found to influence substantially its members policy research output and to decrease its policy usefulness, primarily by promoting explanations of policy, although the extent of influence and lack of usefulness are less than studies of other disciplines suggest. Whereas highly useful outcome analyses are produced less frequently than many advocates of policy research would hope, a sub-stantial body of policy research undertakes objectives that when satisfied, particularly in the area of problem definition, provide moderately useful output to decision makers. In addition, policy research output is remarkably diverse substantively, but less so in terms of the purposes it serves.     

REPRESENTATIONS OF POLITICAL ARGUMENT: APPLICATIONS WITHIN META-PLANNING

Abstract. Central to the best-known classification of Political Arguments is a distinction between want-regarding and ideal-regarding principles, upon which this paper bases alternative representations of the dynamics of political debate. These are discussed with specific reference to the possibility that want-regarding goals are served less well by British planning decisions than if ideal-regarding arguments were permitted. The representations provide a limited explanation of how such a situation might come about and be maintained. Initially they draw on Downs'models of voting and party competition, but explore alternatives because of: (1) the possibility that some assumptions needed for a Downsian representation cannot realistically be made about political arguments; and (2) the probability that factors other than verbal arguments enter into planning decisions.     

AN APPROACH TO THE POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY OF THE WELSH NATIONALIST MOVEMENT

Abstract The character and ideology of the Welsh nationalist movement have changed drastically since the founding of an independent party in 1925. This paper seeks to utilize a developmental typology in analyzing data obtained from interviews with nationalist activists in examining such changes. In this way, it is possible to understand how Welsh language militants, 'respectable' cultural nationalists, middle-of-the road party workers from rural Wales, and south Wales radicals coexist and cooperate within the fabric of organized nationalism. The investigation of the social dynamics of the movement renders comprehensible both the causes of internal organizational strength and the electoral difficulties facing Plaid Cymru.     

"THE LONG AND VIOLENT PULL": SCIENCE FUNDING AND POLICY RESEARCH

Books reviewed in this article.
Claude E. Barfield. Science Policy from Ford to Reagan: Continuity and Change.
D.B.T. Kallen et al. (Eds.) Social Science Research and Public Policy-Making: A Reappraisal
David Meister. Behavioral Research and Government Policy: Civilian and Defense R & D