Description
- Wayne Parsons, Cardiff University, UK
'This comprehensive Handbook, with contributions from leading figures in the field, is a valuable source of information on practical and theoretical aspects of critical policy studies, its argumentative and deliberative turn and its methods of analysis which is likely to stimulate further debate on the big issues in the study and analysis of policy.'BR>- Norman Fairclough, Lancaster University, UK
'The field of critical policy studies goes from strength to strength, and this Handbook provides a much-needed review that will be essential reading for scholars, students and practitioners. It is at the same time a critical introduction for those new to the field (including those coming from more conventional approaches to public policy), a comprehensive reference book for people in the field and a guide to emerging issues and challenges in the study of the communicative practice of public policy.'
- John Dryzek, University of Canberra, Australia
Critical policy studies, as this volume illustrates, challenges conventional approaches to public policy inquiry with its focus on discursive politics, policy argumentation and deliberation, and interpretive modes of analysis. Assembling the voices of established and emerging scholars, the Handbook of Critical Policy Studies fills a major gap in the policy literature.
Moving beyond the false neutrality of empiricism and positivism, this Handbook highlights the responsibility of inquirers to take account of social and political context - including present conditions, past trends and prevailing power relationships - to advance inquiry that relies not only on experts but also on citizens in a manner supporting and encouraging democracy. Not only does this call for a reconsideration of the interplay of qualitative and quantitative methods but also for robust attention to the role of values.
Accessible to scholars, practitioners and students alike, the book offers a compilation of new critical work that both assesses past developments and appraises emerging issues.
Contributors: H. Am, M.R. Banjade, M. Barbehoen, K. Braun, V. Dubois, A. Durnova, L. Elgert, S.A. Ercan, S.S. Fainstein, F. Fischer, S. Griggs, D. Howarth, H. Ingram, B. Jessop, S. Jin Park, W. Lamping, R.P. Lejano, E. Loevbrand, T.W. Luke, R.F. Mendonca, S. Munch, H.R. Ojha, M. Orsini, S.J. Park, S. Paterson, D. Plehwe, T. Saretzki, F. Scala, V.A. Schmidt, A.L. Schneider, K.K. Shrestha, H. Strassheim, J. Stripple, N.-L. Sum, D. Torgerson, H. Wagenaar, D. Yanow
About the Author
Edited by Frank Fischer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Politics and Global Affairs, Rutgers University, US and Research Associate, Humboldt University, Abrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Berlin, Germany, Douglas Torgerson, Professor Emeritus of Politics, Trent University, Canada, Anna Durnova, Professor of Political Sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Vienna, Austria and Michael Orsini, University of Ottawa, Canada
Reviews
'This work offers a useful resource for graduate students and scholars striving to enhance their grasp of what policy analysts are doing. Summing Up: Recommended.' --R. Heineman, Choice
'This uniquely focused Handbook teems with deeply insightful reflections about knowledge and politics in public policy studies. Using cultural, historical, poststructural, constructionist and interpretive approaches to public policy inquiry, the chapters' engaging authors are unfailingly attentive to both old presuppositions and new conceptualizations. Reading this collection brings to awareness the urgency of more democracy and more practicality in the generation of policy knowledge. Neutral expertise, objective research, the supposed fact-value dichotomy and unexamined power arrangements earn critical attention in several chapters. Context, narrative, emotion, and communication also appear as occasional themes in these 25 well-written and highly intelligent essays.' --Hugh T. Miller, Florida Atlantic University, US and author of Governing Narratives: Symbolic Politics and Policy Change
'The Handbook of Critical Policy Studies is a significant work that pulls together state-of-the-art research and thinking about policymaking as it happens in the real world. It provides easy-to-read summaries of the theories underpinning the field, and illustrates these debates in relation to important and topical policy concerns from around the world. The book will be an invaluable help to students from disciplines such as politics, sociology, anthropology and geography who wish to undertake policy-relevant research and learning.' --Tom Forsyth, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Book Information
ISBN 9781788112109
Author Frank Fischer
Format Paperback
Page Count 544
Imprint Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
