Reconceptualizing the Policy Subsystem: Integration with Complexity Theory and Social Network Analysis

McGee, Zachary A.; Jones, Bryan D.

doi:10.1111/psj.12319

Cited by 53 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 77 publications

(111 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The pioneer studies of Lowi and Schattschneider on policy subsystems stressed two different but complementary dynamics (McGee & Jones, 2019). The former warned about the potential capture that special interests could exert within policy subsystems due to their relative closeness to those in charge of regulation.…”

Section: Studying Processes Of Policy Change In the Mining Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Study of the Introduction of Restrictions to Large‐Scale Mining in Four Latin American Countries

Cisneros

2020

Review of Policy Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Institutions are important to enhance the contribution of mining industries not only to economic growth, but also to environmental justice and equality. In this paper, we study the processes by which four Latin American countries modified their existing institutions to manage the effects or large-scale mining in their territories. We focus on the political struggles to introduce legislation to restrict the geographical expansion of large-scale mining in their territories. To this end, we integrate a leading theory of the policy process with theoretical insights from studies of environmental governance and political settlements. Our findings show that processes of policy change followed distinct paths with common elements. The elements that link the initial conditions with change are policy learning, challenges to dominant policy images, conflict expansion, and the involvement of veto players. We also observe that the outputs of the reforms diverge significantly. Three contextual variables contributed to the variability of the outputs of these reforms; the degree of cohesion of elites, the degree of development of environmental institutions, and the relative dependency on mineral revenues. During the processes of policy making, these institutions offered different opportunities and constraints for policy challengers to advance their agenda and for dominant actors to maintain the status quo. The new policy designs offer opportunities for countries to deal with the effects of mining on sensitive ecosystems but political instability threatens the long-term institutionalization of these reforms.

show abstract

Section: Studying Processes Of Policy Change In the Mining Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Study of the Introduction of Restrictions to Large‐Scale Mining in Four Latin American Countries

Cisneros

2020

Review of Policy Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Even the idea of a systems‐based approach in the social sciences has been argued to be based on hope, with its advantages exaggerated (Cairney and Geyer, 2017). OH principles could be accused of naivety and avoiding the reality of the fact that each of the candidate disciplines that would be needed for joining up (such as environmental science, public health science, veterinary science, urban planning, for instance) each operate within their own dimensions of complexity – and can be part of different policy subsystems (McGee and Jones, 2019).…”

Section: One Health As a Global Policy Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Crisis Leadership for Disease‐Induced Threats: One Health and Urbanisation

Connolly

2020

Global Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The concept of 'One Health' (OH) has gathered momentum among the public health and animal health communities as an important global policy agenda for drawing together these disciplines to inform urban planning and health security policies. OH research, from a risk governance perspective, is generally concerned with identifying preventative programmes that can minimise the threats posed by diseases at the animal-human interface (e.g. Corona virus, Ebola, avian influenza, the Q virus, for example). This article, by drawing on examples of disease threats, discusses the multi-level challenges of establishing OH with a particular focus on urban change. It considers the risks posed by the increasing urbanisation of animal habitats and what this means for achieving OH. The article concludes by discussing why social scientists need to pay greater attention to the concept of OH. Policy Implications• The success of a One Health approach to global health security governance requires improvement in local capacities for addressing the health security risks posed by urban living and increased urbanisation.• The WHO International Health Regulations and UN Sustainable Development Goals should, in future, recognise the strategies required to promote a One Health approach before a crisis or threat manifests in order to, at least, match their work when it comes effective responses to threats.

show abstract

“…In particular, public problems are increasingly complex in ways that defy the types of partitioning mentioned earlier. In an article appearing in this issue, McGee and Jones () note that it is no longer sufficient to understand much of the job that public managers do to be confined to particular organizations or issue areas. In a world where understanding multiple subsystems address a given public problem, and doing your job may mean competing with other public organizations, politics becomes central to the day‐to‐day job in different ways than has been the case before.…”

Section: Governance Boundary Spanning Problems and Public Affairsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking in Public about Public Affairs: A Response to, and Expansion of, Zuo, Qian, and Zhao

Workman¹

2019

Policy Studies Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reconceptualizing the Policy Subsystem: Integration with Complexity Theory and Social Network Analysis

Cited by 53 publications

References 77 publications

A Comparative Study of the Introduction of Restrictions to Large‐Scale Mining in Four Latin American Countries

A Comparative Study of the Introduction of Restrictions to Large‐Scale Mining in Four Latin American Countries

Global Crisis Leadership for Disease‐Induced Threats: One Health and Urbanisation

Thinking in Public about Public Affairs: A Response to, and Expansion of, Zuo, Qian, and Zhao

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About