Douglas Torgerson

Between knowledge and politics: Three faces of policy analysis

Various conceptual schemes have been employed to make sense of the diverse policy literature. Attempting to understand policy analysis in terms of its political and historical significance, this essay points to three distinct “faces,” distinguished with regard to differing relationships between knowledge and politcs: one where knowledge purports to replace politics, one where politics masquerades as knowledge, and one where knowledge and politics attain a measure of reconciliation. Historically, these three faces may be viewed, to an extent, as periods in the development of policy analysis: from positivism, to its critique, to present post-positivist efforts.

Contextual orientation in policy analysis: The contribution of Harold D. Lasswell

Criticized for its generally positivist and technocratic orientation, the literature of public policy analysis has begun to generate proposals that would create a convergence between the field and the wider movement for a post-positivist restructuring of social inquiry. Ironically, critics have often focused on “policy science” as the epitomy of positivism and technocracy, giving little attention to the actual position of the figure responsible for the term - Harold D. Lasswell. Centering on Lasswells key concept of contextual orientation, this article argues that, despite positivist influences, he developed an approach to inquiry and a proposal for a policy science profession which together clearly transcend positivism and technocracy- which, indeed, anticipate recent post-positivist proposals. Implications for policy analysis of a project of contextual orientation are also considered, along with problems in Lasswells focus on professionalization.

The uncertain quest for sustainability: public discourse and the politics of environmentalism

Upon entering the public scene, environmentalism disturbed the established discourse of advanced industrial society. While technically focused discourse could usually overwhelm concerns about the morality of dominating nature, doubt about the human ability to dominate nature was more worrisome. The future was dramatically thrown into question, and the doubt proved especially troubling when expressed through the scientistic idiom of technical discourse.

Interpretive policy inquiry: A response to its limitations

With positivist and technocratic notions still prevalent, Paul Healys (1986) insightful effort to advance “interpretive policy inquiry” both underscores the limitations of conventional analysis and helps us to grasp the policy process in human terms. Yet the article falls short of a systematic presentation of the interpretive position and, in doing so, reveals the limitations of that approach: the need for an explicitly critical posture becomes clear. This point is made with particular attention to a pre-positivist figure, Machiavelli.

Priest and jester in the policy sciences: Developing the focus of inquiry

ConclusionOnce the tension between priest and jester has been recognized, it becomes possible not only to keep it alive in developing the focus of inquiry, but also to seek a better balance (or imbalance) between the two. Yet, as Ron Brunner has pointed out (1984), an editor is rightly constrained by others - contributors, reviewers, colleagues. Helping to develop the focus of inquiry means not only taking initiative and staking out directions, but also responding to the spontaneous initiatives of others and encouraging them in their directions. That policy of a journal points to a desirable condition of inquiry and anticipates a desirable, even if hardly imaginable, condition of public life (cf. Schön, 1983, ch. 10).The most renowned of jesters, Lears Fool, inhabits the margins of a world marked by delusion, disguise, deception, and betrayal; he ‘would fain learn to lie,’ (I. iv. 173) but his wit, through riddle and paradox, instead persistently conveys an unwanted truth. The jester becomes not just a source of amusement to his master, but a ‘pestilent gall’ (I. iv. 110). As an apparently ordered and rational world turns to chaos and excess, however, the Fool paradoxically remains constant (II. iv. 75–84). Those who will abandon and betray the old King are those who appear most coldly rational; indeed, it is the jester who is the most reliable of counsellors, enigmatically offering wisdom.The Fools enigmatic counsel of moderation is (like Cordelias gift) seen as a worthless ‘nothing’ (I. iv. 114–128). The jester brings vitality and wit to make us laugh. Yet the comic mood of the jesters clowning only sets in sharper relief something else we know.The jester has a serious side and allows us - if we will but look and listen - to laugh at ourselves, to see ourselves as others see us, to take that crucial step in developing the focus of inquiry whereby we expose ourselves to ourselves. Douglas Torgerson

Expanding the green public sphere: Post-colonial connections

Abstract With the emergence of many environmentalisms, the terms of discourse in the green public sphere are changing, particularly now to take account of international, transnational and global contexts. As it expands in scope, the green public sphere encounters a planet divided not only in regard to rich and poor countries, but also in relation to the legacy of colonialism. Examining the practical tendencies and theoretical prospects of green politics that have arisen in the context of post-colonial connections, the article questions the goal of a unified, consensual movement. Green politics appears as an inescapably divided politics, rife with differences and conflicts. Despite such divisions, however, there remains a significant source of connection in the form of practical and theoretical challenges to convictions that, long guiding industrialism and colonialism, continue to exert substantial influence – an opposition, that is, to the tenets that nature is to be dominated and the earth, conquered.

Reflexivity and Developmental Constructs: The Case of Sustainable Futures

ABSTRACT The quest for sustainability signals a departure from industrialist presuppositions about the human capacity to control nature that had hardly been questioned during the modern era. Environmental politics, indeed, entered the public scene with warnings of environmental crisis that disrupted industrialist assumptions and supported a call for a dramatic change in course. As environmental problems became part of an agenda of sustainable development, however, there came a shift from a disruptive politics towards professionalization and a managerial emphasis. A reflexive approach to sustainability needs to reconsider the relevance of politics while also thematizing problems of history and power. The concept of ‘developmental constructs’, which Harold D. Lasswell offered as part of his proposal for a reflexive project of contextual mapping, is advanced here as relevant to that end. Comparing the early interventions of Rachel Carson and Amory Lovins to Lasswells conception of developmental constructs, the article maintains that such proposals for sustainable futures highlight the importance of a political connection.

Book Review Essay: Reuniting theory and practice

The death of political philosophy, whether a source of celebration or regret, came to be widely accepted in the 1950s. The scientific study of politics seemed to come into its own and to take its place as part of a general advancement of modern social science. With questions of value and obligation deemed inadmissible to rational discussion, the keynote of inquiry was the positivist concern to discover and demonstrate the lawful regularities of social behavior. While the construction of a method adequate to the task of producing dependable social scientific knowledge emerged as a chief preoccupation, there was an accompanying call to apply such knowledge to the solution of social problems. In this context, the paramount role of the expert could scarcely be questioned. It was the expert who would know how to handle the technical problems of industrial civilization. Not only did political philosophy seem dead, but politics itself was obviously on the wane; technocracy, the benevolent rule of experts, was finally at hand. Whether applauded or denounced, this devel

Policy as a matter of opinion

With the ‘argumentative turn’ in policy studies showing us that knowledge is not what it used to be, it is time to consider the relevance of opinion. Revisiting the ancient opposition between knowledge and opinion, particularly in connection with the work of Hannah Arendt, we find that this opposition continues to figure prominently in contemporary policy and public discourses. The argument is that policy needs to be viewed, at least in part, as a matter of opinion. By way of conclusion, this point is illustrated with reference to the climate change controversy and proposed ‘geoengineering’ solutions.

Lasswell in the looking glass: a ‘mirror’ for critical policy studies

ABSTRACT Lasswell remains a notable figure, but is typically cast simply as an apostle of scientism and technocracy. Is there anything in his proposal for the policy sciences to be taken seriously by critical policy studies? This essay contends that the key is a commonality between the two approaches – both are critical and committed to democracy – such that Lasswell’s proposal can be taken as a ‘mirror’ for critical policy studies to better see itself. That, however, means encountering many a wicked question.