Public Policy 2026

Define Public Policy based on the collective courses of action definition.

Collective courses of action intended to achieve public goals.

According to the course material, what is the 'politics' root of public policy?

The binding allocation of values for society as a whole in the context of scarcity.

In the context of politics, what are the four key questions regarding the allocation of values?

Who gets what, how, when, and why.

Public policy provides direction on achieving goals through the selection of _____ and _____.

Means, instruments.

List three examples of public values that are commonly translated into policy goals.

Security, freedom, and equality.

Public policy is characterized as intentional, coordinated, and _____ action.

Collective.

In a sociological sense, how is public policy institutionally embedded regarding social behavior?

It is both constraining and enabling.

Which specific policy type is used to establish new institutional or organizational operations?

Constitutional policies.

Define 'regulatory policies' as described in the course overview.

Policies that define government control or rules in specific cases.

What is the primary objective of (re-)distributive policies?

Allocating or distributing scarce resources among different actors.

Which type of public policy is specifically aimed at creating facilities or provisions?

Provisional policies.

What are the six stages of the policy cycle used to structure the course?

Societal challenge, agenda setting, policy development, decision-making, implementation, and evaluation.

Which stage of the policy cycle follows 'Policy implementation'?

Policy evaluation.

Which stage of the policy cycle immediately precedes 'Policy development'?

Agenda setting.

The Rationalism perspective on public policy focuses on goals, means, and _____.

Costs/benefits.

Which social science perspective views public policy as 'sense making through ideas, rhetoric, and stories'?

Culturalism.

The Institutionalism perspective emphasizes 'rule' driven behavior and grown _____.

Practices.

List four key elements that the Political perspective focuses on regarding public policy.

Power, actors, arenas, and interests.

Which perspective uses 'symbols and myths' as a primary lens for understanding policy?

Culturalism.

In Institutionalism, behavior is driven through programs, routines, and _____.

Procedures.

How are the four social science perspectives described in relation to the 'messy' practice of policymaking?

They are theoretical ideal-types used to understand complex dimensions.

Why are the four perspectives (Rationalism, Political, etc.) considered 'not mutually exclusive'?

They capture different interrelated mechanisms of social reality that exist simultaneously.

What is the 'Network Society' transformation characterized by regarding global connections?

Global networks and value chains consisting of hubs, nodes, and flows.

In the Network Society, what is the role of 'digitalization' in social structure?

It grows connectedness, leading to increased interdependencies and vulnerabilities.

What shift in politics occurs due to the Network Society?

Questions arise whether the nation-state can still respond to the network-based social structure.

Name the societal transformation associated with '(Hyper)-Individualization' and 'De-institutionalization'.

Liquid Society.

What paradox exists within the 'Liquid Society'?

The tension between individualization and the formation of 'bubbles and hypes'.

The 'drifting voter' and the 'drama democracy' are concepts associated with which type of society?

Liquid Society.

In a 'Liquid Society', what primary factors drive identity and self-development?

Happiness, flexibility, and personal gains.

How are 'manufactured risks' distinguished from 'old risks' in the Risk Society?

They are unintended consequences of modernity with hidden, overlapping effects.

What does the complexity of the Risk Society demand from policymakers?

Reflexivity.

Define a 'policy problem' as provided by Hoogerwerf (1989).

The discrepancy between a benchmark and the perception or expectation of a situation.

According to the course, the definition of a problem depends on the benchmark and the _____.

Existing situation.

In the problem classification matrix, what are the two axes used to categorize problems?

Certainty of knowledge and Consensus about benchmarks (values).

What is a 'Tamed problem' in terms of knowledge and consensus?

High certainty of knowledge and High consensus on benchmarks.

Which two social science approaches are most effective for addressing 'Tamed problems'?

Rational approach and Institutional approach.

Define an '(Un)tamable scientific problem' using the matrix axes.

Low certainty of knowledge but High consensus on benchmarks.

What characterizes an '(Un)tamable ethical problem' in terms of consensus and knowledge?

Low consensus on benchmarks (values) but High certainty of knowledge.

Which two approaches are best suited for '(Un)tamable ethical problems'?

Political approach and Cultural approach.

Define a 'Wicked problem' based on the classification matrix.

Low certainty of knowledge and Low consensus on benchmarks.

Give an example of a 'Wicked problem' mentioned in the lecture.

Climate change.

In the context of agenda setting, what does the Rational perspective utilize as a model?

The barrier model.

What concepts represent the Political perspective's view on agenda setting?

Mobilisation of bias and policy windows.

The Cultural perspective on agenda setting focuses on 'frame shifting' and _____.

Target group construction.

How does the Institutional perspective view agenda setting drivers?

Through positive and negative feedback.

List two core features of 'Wicked problems' regarding relationships between goals and means.

Gaps in knowledge about cause-effect and means-goal relationships.

Which societal transformation highlights the rise of 'global networks and value chains'?

The Network Society.

In the Risk Society, the 'risk calculus' is replaced or complicated by _____.

Uncertainty.

What is the primary focus of 'Constitutional policies'?

Establishing new institutional operations or organizations.

The Culturalism perspective focuses on 'sense making' through rhetoric, stories, and _____.

Myths.

Which stage of the policy cycle involves 'Learning & Change' in the course meta-structure?

It is often treated as the outcome or recursive step following evaluation.

What does Hoogerwerf define as the 'benchmark' in a policy problem?

A principle, norm, or goal.

Which approach is recommended for '(Un)tamable scientific problems'?

The Rational and Institutional approaches.

What is the defining characteristic of 'wicked problems' regarding moral benchmarks?

They have a lack of or ambiguous moral benchmarks.

In the Network Society, what is a key consequence of 'growing connectedness'?

Growing interdependencies and vulnerabilities.

What is a 'drama democracy' as referenced in the Liquid Society lecture?

A democracy influenced by the growing role of media and the drifting voter.

What type of problem is 'Drinking water contamination' categorized as, provided there is agreement on health standards and scientific certainty?

A Tamed problem.

Which perspective on public policy emphasizes 'Power, actors, arenas, and interests'?

Political perspective.

In the Institutionalism perspective, behavior is driven by routinized _____.

Systems.

According to the lecture, what defines a 'Liquid Society' regarding institutional structure?

De-institutionalization.

Which perspective on agenda setting involves 'target group construction'?

Cultural perspective.

What is the relationship between the 'benchmark' and the 'perception of the situation' in a policy problem?

A discrepancy between the two creates the problem.

Which type of society is specifically linked to the 'unintended consequences of modernity'?

Risk Society.

Rationalism in public policy focuses on the use of _____ and _____ to achieve goals.

Knowledge, information.

What is the first stage of the policy cycle?

Agenda setting.

Mobilisation of bias is a concept within which perspective of agenda setting?

Political perspective.

Positive and negative feedback loops are key mechanisms in which perspective of agenda setting?

Institutional perspective.

In the policy problem matrix, high certainty of knowledge and low consensus on values describes an _____ problem.

(Un)tamable ethical.

What is the focus of the 'Provisional policies' category?

Creating specific facilities or provisions.

Why is 'reflexivity' required in a Risk Society?

Because the complexity and manufactured risks lead to pervasive uncertainty.

Which stage of the policy cycle involves 'Policy formulation'?

Policy development.

According to the course syllabus, what is the 'meta-structure' of the course composed of?

The intersection of the policy cycle stages and social science perspectives.

In the Liquid Society, voters are often described as _____.

Drifting.

Which perspective views policy as 'Grown practices' and routines?

Institutionalism.

A policy aimed at the 'legalization of euthanasia' is cited as an example of which problem type?

(Un)tamable ethical problem.

The barrier model of agenda setting is part of the _____ perspective.

Rational.

What is the role of 'policy windows' in the Political perspective of agenda setting?

They are opportunities for issues to be placed on the agenda.

In the Liquid Society, 'identity' is often linked to _____ and self-development.

Appealing unique experiences.

What does the 'Network Society' imply about the division of labor?

An international division of labor between metropolitan areas.

Public Policy is 'institutionally embedded' because it _____ as well as _____ social behavior.

Constrains, enables.

Which perspective would analyze a policy problem through 'stories, symbols, and myths'?

Culturalism.

Term: Public Policy

Collective courses of action designed to achieve public goals.

According to the lecture, public policy is rooted in _____, defined as the binding allocation of values for society.

politics

In the context of politics, what determines 'who gets what, how and when'?

The binding allocation of values for society as a whole in a context of scarcity.

Name three examples of public values that are commonly translated into policy goals.

Security, freedom, and equality.

What is the sociological implication of public policy being 'institutionally embedded'?

It simultaneously constrains and enables social behavior.

What is the primary function of constitutional policies?

Establishing new institutional or organizational operations.

What is the primary function of regulatory policies?

Defining government control or specific rules in particular cases.

What is the primary function of (re-)distributive policies?

Allocating scarce resources among various actors.

What is the primary function of provisional policies?

Creating specific facilities or provisions.

List the five stages of the policy cycle in order, starting from the identification of a problem.

Agenda setting, policy development, policy decision-making, policy implementation, and policy evaluation.

Focus of Rationalism perspective:

Goals, means, costs/benefits, and the role of knowledge/information.

Focus of Culturalism perspective:

Sense-making through ideas, rhetoric, stories, symbols, and myths.

Focus of Institutionalism perspective:

Grown practices and rule-driven behavior via programs, routines, and systems.

Focus of Political perspective:

Power, actors, arenas, interests, and dependencies.

In the meta-structure of the course, what are the five components of the policy cycle analyzed through social science perspectives?

Agenda setting, formulation/decision-making, implementation, evaluation, and learning/change.

In a Network Society, what role do hubs, nodes, and flows play?

They constitute global networks and value chains.

What is the core paradox of the Liquid Society regarding individualization?

The tension between individualization and the formation of bubbles or hypes.

How does the Liquid Society affect voters?

It leads to the 'drifting voter' and increases the role of media.

Term: Drama Democracy

A potential outcome of the liquid society where politics is driven by media-heavy unique experiences and hypes.