Description
Book SynopsisPublic policy is made of language. Whether in written or oral form, argument is central to all parts of the policy process. As simple as this insight appears, its implications for policy analysis and planning are profound. This title explores the interplay of language, action, and power in both the practice and the theory of policy-making.
Trade Review"This book has the potential to be important in the field, the leading statement for a movement. It does not call merely for words to balance the statistics, as in the tired debate between the humanities and the sciences. On the contrary, it argues that the words and the statistics are all part of the argument. The contributors apply theories of judgment ranging from classical rhetoric to modern theories of narrative to see the judging whole. The book proposes a new way to see old debates. . . . In short, the book is excellent."—Donald N. McCloskey, University of Iowa
Table of ContentsEditors' Introduction
I. The Argumentative Turn: Policy Institutions and Practices
Policy Discourse and the Politics of Washington Think Tanks / Frank Fischer
Discourse Coalitions and the Institutionalization of Practice: The Case of Acid Rain in Great Britain / Maarten A. Hajer
Political Judgment and the Policy Cycle: The Case of Ethnicity Policy Arguments in the Netherlands / Robert Hoppe
Counsel and Consensus: Norms of Argument in Health Policy / Bruce Jennings
II. Analytical Concepts: Frames, Tropes, and Narratives
Survey Research as Rhetorical Trope: Electric Power Planning Arguments in Chicago / J. A. Throgmorton
Reframing Policy Discourse / Martin Rein and Donald Schon
Reading Policy Narratives: Beginnings, Middles, and Ends / Thomas J. Kaplan
Learning from Practice Stories: The Priority of Practical Judgment / John Forester
III. Theoretical Perspectives
Policy Analysis and Planning: From Science to Argument / John S. Dryzek
Planning Through Debate: The Communicative Turn in Planning Theory / Patsy Healey
Policy Reforms as Arguments / William N. Dunn
Guidelines for Policy Discourse: Consensual versus Adversarial / Duncan MacRae, Jr.
Contributors
Index
