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Policy’s role in democratic conflict management

Author

Listed:
  • Markus Hinterleitner

    (LMU Munich)

  • Fritz Sager

    (University of Bern)

Abstract

This article proposes rethinking democratic conflict management by acknowledging the increasingly important role policy plays in it. As the debate on the health of democracy intensifies, research on how democracies manage and absorb political and societal conflicts becomes broadly relevant. Existing theories and perspectives view conflict management through the lens of elections and other institutional mechanisms, or they examine the social and economic preconditions for successful conflict management while inadequately understanding how policies contribute to conflict management. The article develops a theoretical framework that allows for the analysis of how policies’ material and interpretive effects influence societal conflicts and thereby strengthen (or weaken) democracy. While the article focuses on hypothesis-generation rather than hypothesis-testing, it draws on a large variety of policy and case examples to corroborate and illustrate the theoretical expectations embodied in the framework. Insights into policy’s role in democratic conflict management expand our understanding of the challenges to democracy in the twenty-first century and create new possibilities for comparative, policy-focused research into what makes democracy work.

Suggested Citation

  • Markus Hinterleitner & Fritz Sager, 2022. "Policy’s role in democratic conflict management," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 55(2), pages 239-254, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:55:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s11077-022-09461-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-022-09461-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Schneider, Anne & Ingram, Helen, 1993. "Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(2), pages 334-347, June.
    2. Adam,Christian & Hurka,Steffen & Knill,Christoph & Steinebach,Yves, 2019. "Policy Accumulation and the Democratic Responsiveness Trap," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108481199, January.
    3. Suzanne Mettler & Jeffrey M. Stonecash, 2008. "Government Program Usage and Political Voice," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 89(2), pages 273-293, June.
    4. Christopher M. Weible & Tanya Heikkila, 2017. "Policy Conflict Framework," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(1), pages 23-40, March.
    5. Giliberto Capano & Michael Howlett, 2020. "The Knowns and Unknowns of Policy Instrument Analysis: Policy Tools and the Current Research Agenda on Policy Mixes," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(1), pages 21582440199, January.
    6. Hinterleitner,Markus, 2020. "Policy Controversies and Political Blame Games," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108494861, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jennifer A. Kagan & Tanya Heikkila & Christopher M. Weible & Duncan Gilchrist & Ramiro Berardo & Hongtao Yi, 2023. "Advancing scholarship on policy conflict through perspectives from oil and gas policy actors," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 56(3), pages 573-594, September.

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