When,How and Why Are Junior Coalition Parties Able to Affect a Government's Foreign Policy? A Study of Swedish Coalition Governments 2006–2014

Junior partners in a coalition government are torn between an eagerness to profile themselves, and to show loyalty to the coalition. We investigate when, how and why junior coalition parties affect foreign policy and profile themselves despite demands for national unity. We study two Swedish centre‐right governments in 2006–2010 and 2010–2014. The parties' foreign policy positions in election manifestos are compared to the foreign policy positions presented in the joint Alliance manifesto and yearly government declarations. An explorative analysis of possible explanations for junior parties' influence is based on elite interviews. The results indicate that junior coalition parties might influence the foreign policy in symbolic value related issues, but less so in issues with real policy implications. Our analysis reveals the importance of the leading member of the coalition and how junior parties converge over time towards the position of the senior coalition member.     

Safe as Houses? Conservative Social Policy,Public Opinion and Parliament

Social policy is of key importance to contemporary society, accounting for two thirds of public expenditure and, through provision such as the NHS, pensions, benefits, schools, universities and social care, touching on the lives of much of the population on a daily basis. It has also been one of the areas where the Conservative party have sought to change their image, and to some extent policies, under David Cameron. Drawing upon a range of evidence, including interviews with more than ten per cent of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, this article examines the potential challenges for a Conservative government of either stance, focusing on the extent of possible support for the Conservatives' approach to social policy amongst three key groups: the public, MPs, and members of the House of Lords.     

Can EU Social Policy Save the Social Exclusion Unit and Vice Versa?

With the creation of the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU), the new Labour government signalled its concern with the problems of social exclusion. Unveiled as an innovative unit with a dynamic cross-departmental and holistic approach, the SEU quickly failed to meet the hopes of its supporters. Poorly resourced, passively supported by the prime minister, and ignoring the extensive experience of EU anti-exclusion policy, the SEU appears doomed to stagnate. However, if it was able to link to and learn from EU social policy, it could provide itself with a broader power base, more coherent policy approach, and strengthen 'Social Europe' as well.     

Policy Information and Democratic Governance: Federal Social Policy Analysis, 1965–1997

This article considers the development of social policy analysis in the American central government in order both to present the highlights of that three-plus-decade history and to spell out the implications for the United States and other advanced industrial democracies. The argument is that (1) sound policy data and analyses have never been so needed in the face of increasing political polarization and overwhelming amounts of difficult-to-validate policy information produced in the electronic revolution; and (2) the American experience may be particularly useful to other advanced nations because what works in the United States should work better in these countries, in that they have less complex parliamentary structures without America's independent legislature to challenge the chief executive.     

A Comparison of Tobacco Policy in the UK and Japan: If the Scientific Evidence is Identical,Why is There a Major Difference in Policy?

Tobacco policy in the UK and Japan has diverged markedly. In the 1980s, both countries oversaw regimes with minimal economic and regulatory policies. Now the UK has become one of the most, and Japan one of the least, controlled (advanced industrial) states. These developments are puzzling to public health scholars who give primary explanatory weight to scientific evidence and a vague notion of “political will”, because policy makers possessed the same evidence on the harms of tobacco, and made the same international commitment to comprehensive tobacco control. Instead, we identify the role of a mutually reinforcing dynamic in policy environments, facilitating policy change in the UK but not Japan: policy makers accepted the scientific evidence, framed tobacco as a public health epidemic, placed health departments at the heart of policy, formed networks with public health groups and excluded tobacco companies, and accentuated socio-economic conditions supportive of tobacco control. This dynamic helps explain why the UK became more likely to select each tobacco policy control instrument during a series of “windows of opportunity”. Such analysis, generated by policy theory, is crucial to contemporary science/practitioner debates on the politics of “evidence-based policy making”: the evidence does not speak for itself, and practitioners need to know how to use it effectively in policy environments.     

Who Sets Social Policy in Metropolis? Economic Positioning and Social Reform in Singapore*

Changes in social policy in Singapore reflect not only changing sociopolitical realities and popular attitudes, but also the island state's concerted effort to craft itself as a transnational hub, center for international business, and home-away-from-home for the skilled, moneyed cosmopolitans who drive the contemporary global political economy. Shifts in the de jure and de facto treatment of gays and lesbians provide a stark demonstration of these dynamics. This paper examines why the Singapore government has taken steps toward greater official tolerance of gays and lesbians, despite potential backlash and previous statements about Asian exceptionalism. It also considers how far the transnational environment and forces of globalization are likely to go in diminishing states' sovereignty in setting social policy—and how conversely empowering this diminution may be to certain (but not all) marginalized groups, who may find their appeals to transnational discourses, networks, and less culturally-relative identities increasingly validated as a result.     

What Makes a State Advocacy Structure Effective? — Conflicts Between Bureaucratic and Social Movement Criteria

State "advocacy structures"—agencies nominally designated to advance the status of collective social movements in public policy and society—must operate under conflicting criteria for "effectiveness." While government actors likely measure effectiveness as the ability to manage a policyissue—advancing policy influence by prioritizing and packaging demands —collective movements additionally or primarily emphasize structures' performance as representatives of the priorities and diversity of movements. This consequently leads to differing evaluations of agency "effectiveness." A case study of the Ontario Women's Directorate (OWD) analyzes the inherent conflicts and tensions between these two roles, particularly under repeated changes in government. The experiences of the OWD and other advocacy structures suggest that conflicting criteria are inherent and unavoidable in such institutions.     

Social Policy and Social Control： Case of San Joso del Rincon in the State of Mexico

This study sets out to analyze and evaluate the implementation of a system for the regulation and control of social policies （＂Social Comptrollership＂） involving civil society so as to reinforce the mechanisms for ensuring transparency and responsibility in the government＇s operation of social programs and the execution of public works Here is presented the analysis of the Federal Rural Housing Program （in Spanish： ＂Programa de Vivienda RuraF＇） that is aimed at providing accommodation to families in situations of severe poverty living in communities described as suffering from ＂high or very high levels of marginalization＂. The main conclusion of this research, which is based on a series of interviews with aid recipients, the officials and the social organizations involved, is that the regulatory aspects of this system for controlling social policies are not effective, since they lack mechanisms for enforcing the sanctions set down for participants who do not respect the agreements they have entered into.     

The Expansion of “Private” Schools in England,Sweden and Eastern Germany: A Comparative Perspective on Policy Development,Regulation, Policy Goals and Ideas

In a diverse range of European countries, there has been an increase in the proportion of pupils attending schools owned by private bodies but funded by the state. This article compares the policy development and governance of private government-dependent schools in three countries/regions: England, Sweden and Berlin/Brandenburg in Eastern Germany. It is found that the regulatory frameworks vary and are associated with specific policy goals and ideas, with apparently similar ideas having different meanings. It is also found that the growth of private government-dependent schools is related to policy goals, differing institutional configurations and political parties.     

Engines of learning? Policy instruments,cities and climate governance

Policy Sciences - This contribution investigates how combinations of instruments, often called policy mixes, enhance policy learning processes at different levels. It analyzes the European...     

Race, “Deservingness,” and Social Spending Attitudes: The Role of Policy Delivery Mechanism

This paper examines how the means through which social benefits are delivered—either through a direct government program, or through a tax expenditure program—affects how citizens view social welfare programs and their beneficiaries. Attitudes toward social spending in the United States are strongly conditioned by both racial considerations and perceptions of the deservingness of recipients. We argue that the political cues given by spending conducted through the tax code differ from those given by direct spending in a way that both de-racializes spending attitudes and changes the lens through which citizens evaluate the deservingness of beneficiaries. Through a series of survey experiments, we demonstrate that social benefits delivered through the tax code are less likely to activate racialized thinking than similar or identical benefits delivered directly. This is true, at least in part, because recipients of tax expenditures are perceived as more deserving than recipients of otherwise identical direct spending.

     

Daniel R. Hammond,Politics and Policy in China’s Social Assistance Reform; Providing for the Poor?

Journal of Chinese Political Science -     

Officially Compulsory Advice — A New Policy Option?

This paper presents a new concept in how some aspects of government policy can be delivered and the author is unaware of it having been utilised anywhere before. The author, whose field of competence is building regulation, has named it ‘Officially Compulsory Advice’ and he sees building legislation as a first possible arena for its use. This paper also explores the factors that may make it attractive in two other possible arenas and, therefore, Officially Compulsory Advice may be a useful technique in extending the efficacy of policy implementation. Specialists in other arenas may well discover further possible uses for the concept. Is Officially Compulsory Advice a tautology? Yes, no and maybe. The concept combines elements from these three words: Advice is something that the recipient is free to accept or reject; Compulsory means that the recipient is obliged to receive the advice; and Officially means that legislation has required certain defined classes of people to receive certain advice. This paper also demonstrates how these apparently disparate elements are combined to create a concept that is cohesive, viable, practical and potentially useful in the real world.     

China’s Development of ETS as a GHG Mitigating Policy Tool: A Case of Policy Diffusion or Domestic Drivers?

China launched its national emissions trading scheme (ETS) in late 2017. This article examines the key drivers behind China’s 2011 decision to opt for ETS as a GHG mitigating policy tool and what lay behind the choice of the system’s design features. Given the existence of the frontrunner EU ETS and that market mechanisms have spread across the world in recent years, we analyze the role played by policy diffusion in the decision to launch an ETS and in the subsequent design process, seen in relation to domestic drivers. The article investigates policy developments culminating in the 2011 carbon market announcement, and the reasons these design elements were chosen for the pilot schemes and the national market in the period 2011–2017. The article contributes to our understanding of policy diffusion at different stages of policy development in China, by revealing which diffusion mechanism is more prevalent at different stages. We find first that overall domestic conditions and drivers had the most consistent impact on policy decisions to establish a carbon market and on the selected sectors. However, a second key finding is that the role of policy diffusion varied over time, with such diffusion, in the form of ideational impact, playing the most important role early on, providing a powerful inducement for China to go for a carbon market. Third, sophisticated learning from international projects took place in the pilots, allowing China to adapt policies and design features to match local conditions.     

Quangos—Why Bother Counting Them When Whitehall Can't?

‘Mindless’ empiricism rules in British central government, bolstered by the use of prerogative powers and the absence of any ‘court of appeal’ to insist on definitions and uniformities. This gives arguments about quangos—arm's‐length bodies—a surreal quality. The Cameron coalition has created many new quangos, while claiming a cull. Unless and until Whitehall acquires, or is forced to acquire, better habits of mind, it may be a waste of time for academics and reformers to prepare taxonomies and call for more administrative rationality.