Study Notes on Agenda Setting and Government

AGENDA SETTING & GOVERNMENT

AGENDAS AND ALTERNATIVES

What is an Agenda?

  • Definition: According to Kingdon (p. 3), an agenda is defined as:
    "the list of subjects or problems to which governmental officials, and people outside of government closely associated with those officials are paying some serious attention to at any given time."

TAKE TRANSPORTATION Agenda

  • Scope of the Transportation Agenda: The agenda of senior Department of Transportation officials and members of Congress may include:
    • Mass transit
    • Highway maintenance
    • Airline regulation and safety
    • Tanker spills
    • Motor safety
  • Focus Limitation:
    Officials only seriously consider some of these issues at any given time, emphasizing the point of agenda setting, which is to narrow the number of problems/subjects to focus on.

A TALE OF TWO AGENDAS

Governmental or Institutional Agenda

  • Definition: A list of subjects or problems that receive attention from public officials, but does not imply action.
  • Examples:
    • All petitioners for a writ of cert in the Supreme Court
    • Introduced bills

Decision Agenda

  • Definition: The list of subjects or problems that are on the government agenda and up for a decision.
  • Examples:
    • Cases the Supreme Court grants standing
    • Bills that are debated in committee or on the floor OR are otherwise brought up for a vote
  • Example in Transportation: Mass transportation may be on the governmental agenda but not on the decision agenda, meaning action is not imminent.

AGENDAS AND ALTERNATIVES

  • Relation between Agendas and Alternatives: The agenda consists of the problems that have garnered attention, while alternatives refer to potential solutions to those problems. They are related but distinct. For example:
    • Healthcare Agenda: The issue of rising costs
    • Healthcare Alternatives: Solutions may include tighter regulation on insurers, universal healthcare, or doing nothing.

AGENDA SETTING PROCESS

Goal of the Agenda Setting Process

  • Definition: The aim is to narrow the “set of subjects that could conceivably occupy public officials’ attention to the list on which they actually do focus.” (Kingdon, p. 196)
  • Notice on Action: Action is not necessarily what’s important to understand; that comes later.

Importance of Non-inclusion in the Agenda

  • What is off the agenda can be just as important as what is on it, informing us about public officials' and the public's policy goals.

HOW ARE AGENDAS SET?

Participants Determine Agenda Inclusion

  • The process hinges on who the participants are and how they operate, concerned more with the "how" rather than the "what".

Impact of Subject Matter on Agenda Setting

  • Raises the question of whether the subject matter still holds importance for agenda setting.

PARTICIPANTS INSIDE GOVERNMENT

  • President:
    • Can unilaterally set an agenda but cannot dominate alternatives.
    • Has resources such as veto power, appointment power, and command of public attention.
  • Political Appointees:
    • Elevate ideas on important agendas and increase likelihood of ideas reaching the White House.
    • However, they are transient, often remaining in position for only a few years.
  • Bureaucrats:
    • Experts that focus more on alternative generation rather than influencing the agenda.
    • Bring expertise and longevity in governmental roles.
  • Members of Congress:
    • Central to both agenda setting and alternative specification, wielding legal authority combined with incentives to satisfy constituents to influence policy and gain reelection.

PARTICIPANTS OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT

  • Interest Groups:
    • Various forms including business, labor, or public interest groups that influence the agenda but may lack cohesion.
  • Researchers and Academics:
    • Mostly affect alternatives but can build connections with influential others.
  • Media:
    • Influence public opinion, impacting agenda setting but exert little influence on alternatives; provide a venue for outsiders with limited access to government.

VISIBLE AND HIDDEN PARTICIPANTS

  • Visible Participants:
    • Figures such as the president and prominent members of Congress, as well as media, primarily affect agenda setting.
  • Hidden Participants:
    • Include academics, bureaucrats, congressional staff, and lower-level political appointees who predominantly affect alternatives and contribute technical knowledge

AGENDA SETTING PROCESS (KINGDON)

  • Three Streams:
    • Problem stream
    • Policy stream
    • Political stream
  • Confluence: The confluence of these streams produces a window of opportunity for agenda setting.

PROBLEMS IN AGENDA SETTING

Indicators

  • Changes in indicators (conditions that signify a problem but aren’t necessarily problems) can elevate the importance of a problem on the agenda.
  • Can be identified through routine monitoring or through other means, such as public outrage.

Focusing Events

  • Definition: A focusing event can be a crisis, disaster, or the personal experience of a policymaker.
    • Example: The events of 9/11.
  • These events rarely carry a subject to the agenda unless they are connected to a pre-existing perception of a problem.

Feedback

  • Refers to responses to public officials through monitoring, casework, or bureaucratic experience.

POLICY PROCESS

What is “Primaeval Soup”?

  • Kingdon uses this term to refer to the mix of many ideas, some which are good and some not.
  • Survival of Ideas: An idea only survives if it is feasible, acceptable, and fits within future constraints such as budget, political changes, and public opinion.
  • Communities of Specialists: Communities of experts share ideas; however, this can often be fragmented, making consensus less likely.
  • Policy Entrepreneurs: Individuals who invest resources (time, energy, reputation, and money) in advocating for ideas and can push subjects up the agenda. Example: Ralph Nader.

POLITICS IN AGENDA SETTING

National Mood

  • The national mood has a direct influence on which items are included on the agenda, promoting or restricting certain issues.
  • Distinction between national mood and public opinion; mood primarily originates from politicians.

Organization of Public Forces

  • Consensus and conflict among organized interests shape the political environment and can force politicians to balance various agenda items.

Government Personnel

  • Personnel turnover can lead to changes in agendas and priorities.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

  • Participants:
    • Inside Government
    • Outside Government
    • Visible Participants
    • Hidden Participants
  • Process:
    • Problem stream
    • Policy stream
    • Politics stream
  • Movement of Issues to Decision Agenda: The process involves:
    1. Identification of problems and bringing them to the attention of policymakers/the public.
    2. Emergence of policy alternatives and stakeholders around these policies.
    3. Support from forces within government and the national mood to elevate issues to decision agenda status.

THREE STREAMS AND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA, 2009-2010)

Participants in ACA

  • Inside Government: President Obama, congressional leaders, experts at HHS.
  • Outside Government: Health advocacy groups, insurance companies, doctors’ associations.
  • Visible Participants: Members of Congress in televised hearings, White House officials.
  • Hidden Participants: Policy experts, think tank analysts, congressional staff who drafted language.

The Process of ACA

  • Problem Stream:
    • Issues included rising costs, a growing uninsured population, and public dissatisfaction with healthcare access.
  • Policy Stream:
    • A range of reform options developed over decades, including Medicaid expansions, the individual mandate, and insurance exchanges.
  • Politics Stream: A favorable political environment characterized by a new presidential administration with a commitment to expand coverage, large Democratic majorities in Congress, and public pressure following the 2008 financial crisis.

CONVERGENCE OF STREAMS FOR ACA

  1. Problem Identification: Issues of uninsured/underinsured individuals and rising healthcare costs highlighted through reports, media, and presidential speeches, bringing healthcare to the public agenda.
  2. Surfacing Alternatives: Policy experts and think tanks had alternatives prepared which were viable once the issue gained prominence.
  3. Political Alignment: A Democratic president, strong congressional majorities, and public demand for reform following a recession created a favorable context.

THREE STREAMS AND ACA

  • Convergence of the three streams created a policy window that enabled the Affordable Care Act to move to the decision agenda and ultimately get enacted into law.

POWER AND AGENDA SETTING

The “Hidden Agenda” or Non-Decisions

  • Insight from Dahl (1961): Examining which issues are on a community's agenda can reveal who holds power in setting that agenda.
    • Participation impacts decision-making affecting those not involved.
  • Counterview from Bachrach and Baratz (1969): Introduced the idea of two faces of power (decisions vs. non-decisions) and emphasized the importance of what’s excluded from the agenda, asserting that controlling the issues amenable to discussion is also a powerful position.

QUALIFIED IMMUNITY CASE STUDY

Case Overview

  • Following nationwide protests in 2020, reform momentum for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act surged.
  • The House passed the act, but negotiations in the Senate collapsed specifically over the issue of qualified immunity, illustrating the role of powerful institutions and framing of issues in agenda setting.

Conclusion

  • The failure to pass the reform despite broad public support raises questions about whether this was a non-decision and hints at ongoing public attention potentially reopening the issue for future consideration.