Közpolitika
Public Policy

Author(s): Barna Bodó
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Political Sciences, Governance, Public Administration
Published by: Scientia Kiadó
Keywords: public policy;administration;political system;interdisciplinarity
Summary/Abstract: One of the most developing areas of political science in the 20th century is public policy. The accuracy of this claim lies in the fact that the findings of policy studies break the classic boundaries of political science, because it focuses its attention on social processes (programs, conceptions, strategies) which shape the future of the society. Moreover, public policy is common interest. This comes from the fact that the process of decision-making – similarly to every option which focuses on the future of mankind – is not a value-blind process; people need to take part in those processes which shape their future. Times are changing. The classic definition of public policy is valid – activities and non-activities which are conducted by governmental institutions in order to implement the objectives crystallized on the road to power of the participants –, however, beyond the classical model of political mandating through elections, there is a need for public participation as well: the formulation of signals, criticisms, expectations. Therefore, public policy can be understood as conscious action which is used by a group of actors in problem solving. This situation is challenging not only for those who are participating in it – target groups, policymakers, agenda setters –, but for political science as a whole as well. As a policy analyst once formulated it quite effectively, policy analysis is the practice of theory and the theory of practice (György Gajduschek). The objective of this book is to go through the most important topics of public policy and to organize them in concrete chapters. The administrative and public policy processes are analyzed from political perspective, thus we focus on the development and implementation of programs, the processes of decision-making and evaluation, which are linked to the function of the political system as a whole. In other words, our objective is to follow the process of how governments think and develop their action and program, to analyze their implementation and to unfold the related causalities and consequences. We plan to give a theoretical knowledge-base to the practical configuration and realization of public policies. Although this knowledge is specific, its importance rises from the interdisciplinarity of its tools. The book, its structure, approached topics and discussion-type (depth and theoretical tools), follows the structure of the academic course. From pedagogical point of view the inserted textboxes – concept descriptions, definitions and comments – are equally important, they present important insights on the discussed matter. The glossary – concept definition index – shares the same purpose as well.

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