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Toward an Anthropology of Public Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Janine R. Wedel

    (School of Public Policy at George Mason University)

  • Cris Shore

    (University of Auckland in New Zealand)

  • Gregory Feldman

    (University of British Columbia)

  • Stacy Lathrop

Abstract

As the rational choice model of “policy†proliferates in “policy studies, †the social sciences, modern governments, organizations, and everyday life, a number of anthropologists are beginning to develop a body of work in the anthropology of public policy that critiques the assumptions of “policy†as a legal-rational way of getting things done. While de-masking the framing of public policy questions, an anthropological approach attempts to uncover the constellations of actors, activities, and influences that shape policy decisions, their implementation, and their results. In a rapidly changing world, anthropologists’ empirical and ethnographic methods can show how policies actively create new categories of individuals to be governed. They also suggest that the long-established frameworks of “state†and “private, †“local†or “national†and “global, †“macro†and “micro, †“top down†and “bottom up, †and “centralized†and “decentralized†not only fail to capture current dynamics in the world but actually obfuscate the understanding of many policy processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Janine R. Wedel & Cris Shore & Gregory Feldman & Stacy Lathrop, 2005. "Toward an Anthropology of Public Policy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 600(1), pages 30-51, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:600:y:2005:i:1:p:30-51
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716205276734
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Zhong, Cheng, 2023. "Seeking balance: Chinese middle-class parents’ choice imaginaries under Synchronous Admission Reform," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    2. Shilpi Srivastava, 2022. "Understanding regulatory cultures: The case of water regulatory reforms in India," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 1290-1305, October.
    3. David Lewis & M. Feisal Rahman & Revocatus Twinomuhangi & Shababa Haque & Nazmul Huq & Saleemul Huq & Lars Ribbe & Asif Ishtiaque, 2023. "University-Based Researchers as Knowledge Brokers for Climate Policies and Action," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(3), pages 656-683, June.
    4. Sarma, Ujjal Kumar & Barpujari, Indrani, 2023. "Realizing a rights-based approach to resettlement from protected areas: Lessons from Satpura Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh (India)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    5. Lena Gutheil & Dirk‐Jan Koch, 2023. "Civil society organizations and managerialism: On the depoliticization of the adaptive management agenda," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(1), January.
    6. Lena Gutheil & Dirk-Jan Koch, 2024. "Aid Unchained: Examining Development Project Management Practices at Aid Chain Interfaces," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 24(2), pages 97-112, April.
    7. Kline, Nolan, 2022. "Health and immigration systems as an ethnographic field: Methodological lessons from examining immigration enforcement and health in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    8. Sara Hinkley, 2017. "Structurally adjusting: Narratives of fiscal crisis in four US cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(9), pages 2123-2138, July.

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