Policy Making I Explore Policy Making Process Essay

Total Length: 656 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 2

Policy Making

I explore policy making process issues reach public agenda-based Kingdon's model

The policy making process and how issues reach the public agenda: Kingdon's model

According to John W. Kingdon's book Agendas, alternatives, and public policy, simply because an idea is beneficial to the public interest does not necessarily mean that the idea will come to fruition and be enacted into law. An idea whose 'time has come' in the American system of government must be created by a series of different types of pressures which Kingdon calls problem streams, policy streams, and political streams. Kingdon uses metaphors such as a 'garbage can' and a 'policy primeval soup' to describe how decision-making in Washington takes place: there is nothing logical or linear about it. Kingdon views the creation of policies as the result of these various intersecting 'streams.' First, 'the problem stream' "can push some items higher on the agenda, but it can also retard the upward movement of others, particularly through the budget constraint" (Kingdon 1997: 88).

But while the problem stream may be defined by individual citizens, the 'policy' stream is just as critical.

Stuck Writing Your "Policy Making I Explore Policy Making Process" Essay?

This is made up of interest groups, civil servants, or even academics. They offer a 'stream' of policy solutions which may or may not actually relate to the public's original concerns. Finally, the 'political stream' represented by politicians is affected by the policy stream, but also by other variables such as the need to be reelected. Election results, popular sentiment as measured by polls and other aspects of the policy process all have an impact upon which issues are prioritized and how they are solved by members of Congress and other political professionals (Kingdon 1997: 87).

A good example of how these dimensions operate can be seen in the recent controversy over gun violence. After the school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, there was a great deal of pressure upon Congress to pass a bill regulating firearms. This is the 'problem….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Policy Making I Explore Policy Making Process" (2013, April 19) Retrieved May 18, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/policy-making-explore-policy-making-process-101064

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Policy Making I Explore Policy Making Process" 19 April 2013. Web.18 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/policy-making-explore-policy-making-process-101064>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Policy Making I Explore Policy Making Process", 19 April 2013, Accessed.18 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/policy-making-explore-policy-making-process-101064