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Policy Theories in Hard Times? Assessing the Explanatory Power of Policy Theories in the Context of Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Georg Wenzelburger

    (TU Kaiserslautern)

  • Pascal D. König

    (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)

  • Frieder Wolf

    (Universität Heidelberg)

Abstract

Can the behavior of political actors in business-as-usual conditions be analyzed with the same theoretical framework as decision-making in situations characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity, complexity and urgency? After comparing major existing approaches and evaluating their explanatory logic under crisis circumstances, the present article develops a theoretical framework which explicitly accounts for the crisis characteristics at two stages of the policy making process, agenda-setting and decision-making. The bearing of policy-entrepreneurs, international networks, institutions and partisanship on policy outcomes critically depends on the specific workings on these levels in crisis-mode. These expectations are probed in an empirical re-evaluation of the 2011 Spanish pension reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Georg Wenzelburger & Pascal D. König & Frieder Wolf, 2019. "Policy Theories in Hard Times? Assessing the Explanatory Power of Policy Theories in the Context of Crisis," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 97-118, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:porgrv:v:19:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s11115-017-0387-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11115-017-0387-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frank Geels & Guillermo Ivan Pereira & Jonatan Pinkse, 2021. "Public investments in COVID-19 green recovery packages: A comparative analysis of scale, scope, and implementation in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom," Working Papers 004, The Productivity Institute.

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