A major textbook devoted to the theories that drive the study of Public Policy. Offering an accessible overview of the key components of public policy analysis – such as power and agenda setting, institutions, networks, socio-economic factors and the role of ideas – the text shows how different theoretical models relate to one another and explores how theory can be applied across a range of country settings.
With its impressively comprehensive coverage, the book can be used as the sole text for teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses worldwide on Public Policy, Policy Analysis and Theories of Public Policy.

Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues

Politics & Social Sciences

Paul Cairney

Social Sciences

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

'Over recent years Complexity Science has revealed to us new limits to our possible knowledge and control in social, cultural and economic systems. Instead of supposing that past statistics and patterns will give us predictable outcomes for possible actions, we now know the world is, and will always be, creative and surprising. Continuous structural evolution within such systems may change the mechanisms, descriptors, problems and opportunities, often negating policy aims. We therefore need to redevelop our thinking about interventions, policies and policy making, moving perhaps to a humbler, more learning approach. In this Handbook, leading thinkers in multiple domains set out these new ideas and allow us to understand how these new ideas are changing policymaking and policies in this new era.' - Peter M Allen, Cranfield University, UK
'Complexity Theory has come to the fore because the world we live in is complex and many of the issues which confront us cannot be handled by the conventional tools of science, including social science. In public policy and professional practice, we are well aware of wicked issues where simple interventions often make things worse instead of better. The chapters in this excellent Handbook put complexity to work where it matters in informing our thinking and action across governance and public policy.' - David Byrne, Durham University, UK
Though its roots in the natural sciences go back to the early 20th century, complexity theory as a scientific framework has developed rapidly from the 1970s onwards. Since the 1990s, it has been increasingly integrated into the social sciences and public policy. The ground-breaking and wide-ranging Handbook on Complexity and Public Policy brings together the latest work from top academics, researchers and policy actors working with complexity and policy from Europe, North America, Brazil and China and organizes it into three clear and cohesive parts:
- Theory and Tools - Methods and Modelling for Policy Research and Action - Applying Complexity to Local, National and International Policy.
With its distinctive combination of theory, methods and policy applications, comprehensive coverage of the field and state of the art overview, this Handbook is an essential read for students, academics and policy practitioners.
Contributors include: S. Astill, U.Bilge, T. Bovaird, P. Cairney, A. Caloffi, T. Carmichael, M. Darking, G. de Roo, B. Edmonds, C. Gershenson, R. Geyer, M. Givel, B. Gray, M. Hadzikadic, P. Haynes, C. Hobbs, M. Howlett, L. Johnson, R. Kenny, K.E. Lehmann, A. Little, Q. Liu, E. Mitleton-Kelly, G. Morçöl, D. Nohrstedt, S. Occelli, J. Price, J. Rayner, C. Ricaurte, G. Room, F. Rossi, M. Russo, F. Semboloni, K. Treadwell Shine, J. Stroud, T. Tenbensel, C. Warren-Adamson, T.E. Webb, A. Wellstead, J. Whitmeyer

Handbook on Complexity and Public Policy (Handbooks of Research on Public Policy series)

Science & Math

Robert Geyer

Mathematics

Edward Elgar Publishing

Understanding Public Policy: Understanding Public Policy

Bloomsbury Acad Indi

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Books by Paul Cairney