Policy networks and governance

pp. 161-179

in: David L. Weimer, Institutional design, Berlin, Springer, 1995

Abstract

In this chapter we focus on the management and the restructuring of networks, two themes that have recently attracted interest within the fields of public administration and policy analysis. Network approaches are in part a response to models in which policy making is seen as a more or less rational and sequential process from problem definition through policy intervention to evaluation and feedback. In network approaches, policy is seen as the result of interaction among corporate actors (Marin and Mayntz, 1991). These actors depend on each other for the realization of their aims and for this reason maintain ongoing relations with each other. This mutual dependency is often long-lived, leading to networks of relations that can be viewed as institutions. The policy networks evolve structures consisting of sets of values, norms, and rules. From a network perspective, institutional design can be viewed as efforts to alter these structures to achieve more desired outcomes