Defining Relevant Terms
GOVT 2306
As we did in 2305, I want to clarify
– broadly – what is meant by some
of the key terms and concepts we
will be using in this class.
The purpose is to ensure that we
can have an efficient conversation
about the subject matter at hand.
The terms are
Government
Politics
Sovereignty
Public Policy
Here are some simple definitions
of each
Notice that there are multiple
possible definitions for each of
them.
Here are three definitions of
“sovereignty”
1 - supreme power, especially over a body
politic
2 - the quality of having supreme,
independent authority over a territory
3 - the power to do everything in a state
without accountability
Here are two, of the many, definitions
of “Government”
- The institution, or institutions, with the
monopoly on the legitimate use of coercion in
society.
- The institutions and procedures through which
a land and its people are ruled.
And here are three of the many
definitions of “Politics”
1- The authoritative allocation of values in
society.
2 - The struggle over who gets what when and
how.
3 - Intrigue or maneuvering within a political
unit in order to gain control or power
And a couple for Public Policy:
1 - Public policy is a course of action adopted
and pursued by a government.
2 - Public policy is a purposive and consistent
course of action produced as a response to a
perceived problem of a constituency, formulated
by a specific political process, and adopted,
implemented, and enforced by a public agency.
- click here for the source.
Try committing these to memory
Let’s unpack these a bit more.
Again, this should help you make
sense of some of the upcoming
material.
What is Sovereignty?
This is simply the concept that
refers to where legitimate power
lies in a community.
It refers to whatever entity in fact
has the power to rule.
In the United States, and Texas –
along with the other states –
governmental power rests with the
people.
This is referred to as popular
sovereignty.
We can find proof by reading the
preamble of the U.S. and Texas
Constitutions.
The U.S. Constitution
We the people of the United States, in order to
form a more perfect union, establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves
and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.
The Texas Constitution
Humbly invoking the blessings of
Almighty God, the people of the
State of Texas, do ordain and
establish this Constitution.
The authority of the government of each
level rests on the population.
There is an interesting reason for this. It
has to do with the problem posed by the
assumption that people in the U.S. and
Texas are equal before the law. If everyone
is equal, no one has the authority to rule
over anyone else.
A monarchic system does not have this
problem. If power rests with the monarch,
he/she gets to rule.
But if everyone is equal then an alternative
must be established. That alternative is the
consent of the governed, and it matters
because it is their authority which grants
governments the power to do what they
do.
Here’s the key part from the
Declaration of Independence, if
you recall:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-That to secure these rights, Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the
governed.”
Here is a key problem with the
concept of popular sovereignty.
How close a connection exists
between the government and
governed? How much direct
control does the sovereign have?
Does the sovereign have
immediate, direct control over the
operations of the government or is
it indirect? Does the sovereign only
have the ability to impact
government by electing, and
holding accountable in periodic
elections, officeholders?
And in a federal system like the United States, where
people provide the basis for both the national and state
governments, sovereignty can be a bit confused. Which
level takes priority over the other?
A lot of the conflict we will cover this semester
between the US and Texas governments stems from the
concept of dual sovereignty. The national and state
governments – to a degree – have equal status. This
allows for conflict when one attempts to interfere with
the activities of the other.
This is a central fact of American
government and will occupy much
of what we cover this semester.
What is Government?
This is the term used to define the
institutions that have evolved to
establish, implement, and
adjudicate rules that determine
how a group of people will live
together in some agreeable way.
Here are the definitions listed above.
- The institution, or institutions, with the
monopoly on the legitimate use of coercion in
society
- The institutions and procedures through which
a land and its people are ruled.
The simplest way to think of a
government as the institution that
can compel you to do stuff.
What that stuff is, is a function of
the political process, which we will
discuss below.
Governments - at their best – are
the institutions that allow groups
of people to live together in some
peaceable manner.
They establish the rules which
allow for transactions between
people – often strangers – to
proceed smoothly.
Think of how you share the road
with people you do know. If
everyone knows the rules and
abides by them – no one gets hurt.
Governments have problematic aspects as well.
By controlling the powers of government,
certain groups or individuals can dominate
others. So the big trick has always been to
design governments strong enough to
implement what is necessary in order for a
society to function, but limit it so that it does
not undermine individual rights and freedoms.
The problem is that people are not
always in agreement over what
government ought to do, and what
it means for rights and liberties to
be unduly undermined.
This is the stuff of political conflict
– which we will hit in a moment.
In 2305 we discussed the factors
related to the development of
governments, its major
components and different types of
governing systems.
The constitutional democratic republic that
the U.S. is governed by is just one of a
variety of different governing systems.
A few things worth remembering
from that section:
First, Governments, historically, have evolved
either due to coercion or consent. The historical
record provides more evidence of governments
established by coercion, but the American
system is based on the idea that governments
actually evolve due to agreements people enter
into voluntarily in order to better provide for
mutual security. In this arrangement, people
consent to rule rather than being coerced into it.
Second, in order to in fact rule,
government shave to be able to do
two things: collect revenue and
coerce people to follow the law.
If a government can do neither,
then its not really a government.
Third, governments can be
arranged in one of three basic ways
depending on where sovereignty is
located: Autocratic, Oligarchic and
Democratic. Respectively these are
referred to as the rule of the one,
the few and the many.
Fourth, we mentioned that governments
tend to do three things. They make,
implement and adjudicate the law. These
powers are vested in each of three
separate institutions in order to limit
governmental power. Recall that James
Madison argued that the concentration of
these three powers in one person or
institutions is the very definition of
tyranny.
Separated Powers
The term “government” specifically
– and in a general sense – refers to
the institutions created in the
three branches of government that
each respond to the three unique
powers of government.
These are the legislative, executive
and judicial.
They are separated because any
one person or entity that
possesses all of these can
essentially do what they choose.
In the case of Texas:
The legislative power is vested in a
bicameral legislature composed of
a 150 person House of
Representatives and a 31 person
Senate.
The executive is vested in plural
executive consisting of a governor
and a handful of other separately
elected executive officials with
certain defined functions.
The judiciary is composed of
independently elected judges and
justices for a variety of positions in
courts with certain defined
functions throughout the state.
Each has the ability to negate what
the others do.
This is the heart of the theory of
the separated powers.
When we discuss each of these
institutions more thoroughly later
on, the nature of their powers will
expanded.
Constitutions
Before we go to much further, let
define one more term:
Constitution
What is a Constitution?
Here are some definitions:
- The system of fundamental laws and principles
that prescribes the nature, functions, and limits
of a government or another institution.
- a body of fundamental principles or
established precedents according to which a
state or other organization is acknowledged to
be governed.
The term can be defined in many
ways, but in essence a Constitution
establishes basic governing
institutions, defines their powers
and limitations, and clarifies the
relationship between the
government and the people.
In 2305 we spent time discussing
the nature of the US Constitution,
in 2306 we look at state
constitutions and the Texas
Constitution.
We will note distinctions between
the two as we go forward.
Here is a crucial point, one that
helps us understand what makes
the constitutional structure of
Texas – and other similar states –
different than that of the US.
It’s a point we will make repeatedly
throughout the semester
While the US Constitution was
designed to place barriers between
the people and the government in
order to give the government
leeway in performing its functions,
the Texas Constitution is designed
to constrain it.
Recall that the US Constitution replaced
the confederated system established in the
Articles of Confederation which the
Federalists judged to be too weak to
govern the newly formed nation.
The Anti-Federalists – if you recall –
disagreed.
The US Constitution features
centralized executive power,
appointed positions and long
terms lengths where the Texas
Constitution divides power and
establishes a sizeable number of
elected position with short term
lengths.
This seemingly simple distinction
matters.
The former design allows for more
government power, while the latter
limits it.
The design of the Texas Constitution
gives the general population –
specifically the majority – the ability to
control it.
It is a far more democratic constitution
– at least in terms of majority, not
necessarily minority rights.
Its probably not a bad idea to think of
the Texas Constitution and
government as being designed and run
by people who are more in line with
the legacy of the Anti-Federalists than
the Federalists.
Keep this in mind as we go forward.
We will look at this more deeply as
we look at each institution
separately.
Autocracy,
Oligarchy,
Democracy,
and the Separated Powers
We mentioned in 2305 that each of
these systems had advantages and
disadvantages.
And that each is – to some degree
– written into the governing
system on the national level.
Here’s a brief preview:
Autocracies are efficient, but arbitrary
Oligarchies are knowledgeable, but biased
Democracies are legitimate, but unstable
Autocracy
Autocracies – where one person is in
charge - are efficient. They are the best
systems for getting things done.
But they are prone to arbitrary rule.
Autocrats can do what they please because
there are no meaningful limits on what
they choose to do. They are by definition
tyrannical.
But – again – they can ensure that
things get done, laws get implemented.
Executive branches in the US tend to
have an autocratic character in order
to ensure that laws are implemented
effectively.
In the American system of
checks and balances,
there are limits that are
imposed on executive
power, but Alexander
Hamilton argued that
having a single person on
top of the executive
branch would ensure the
efficient operations of the
government.
“A feeble Executive implies a feeble
execution of the government. A feeble
execution is but another phrase for a
bad execution; and a government ill
executed, whatever it may be in
theory, must be, in practice, a bad
government.”
- Federalist #70
We will define executive power in
the state of Texas more thoroughly
in later sections, but on the state
level the chief executive is the
governor, but other functions of
the state executive are held by
offices that are separately elected.
On the local level the chief
executive of cities is the mayor – or
city manager depending on the
nature of the specific design of the
government.
Counties are headed by a county
judge, who heads the county
commissioner’s court.
Again, more on these soon
enough.
Oligarchy
The simplest definition of oligarchy
is government by the few.
This can take many different forms
depending who those “few”
happen to be and why they are in
charge.
Perhaps the most commonly recognized
oligarchy is an aristocracy where governing is
deliberately restricted to a ruling class which is
generally selected by birth. The British
aristocracy is the best example, and was part of
what the American colonists rebelled against in
the late 18th Century. This social class had
special governing privileges including a birth
right to membership in the House of Lords.
See this section on the landed gentry.
This form of aristocracy was
established by primogenitor and
entail.
Both policies are prohibited in
states constitutions – including
Texas’ Here’s a bit from the History
Channel on Georgia abolishing the
practice in 1777.
A more contemporary type of
oligarchy is a plutocracy, which is a
governing systems that is dominated
by a nation’s wealthiest citizens.
Usually the wealthy are able to use
existing rules to increase their
influence over a government, this
includes campaign finance and
lobbying rules.
The United States – and especially
Texas – is argued to be increasingly
plutocratic.
For an example: Millionaires' Club:
For First Time, Most Lawmakers
are Worth $1 Million-Plus.
Plato – among other philosophers
– have argued that society works
more smoothly if people are
divided into groups based on their
abilities.
Some are meant to rule, others to
hold skilled positions, others to be
laborers.
Leaders must promote The Nobel
Lie to convince people that social
stratification is the best way to
organize society.
The question of whether the US is
in fact a class based system –
despite the fact that it is not legally
so – is ongoing.
The point is that oligarchies are
argued to have advantages
despites the fact that it violates
basic principles of political equality.
Oligarchies allow for
knowledgeable rule, but are
subject to bias.
The courts in the US tend to have
an autocratic design so that we
have judges who have the
knowledge to be able to make just
decisions on the controversies that
come before them.
They are the system designed to be
insulated the most from public
pressures.
This is to ensure that judges rule
fairly, based on the facts at hand,
not subject to public pressure.
Democracy
The simple definition of democracy
is rule by the many, but there are
many different types of democracy.
We’ll just look at two:
Direct
Indirect
In a direct – or pure – democracy people
rule directly, meaning that the general
population has the opportunity to vote
directly on public matters
In an indirect – or representative –
democracy people select representatives
that then vote on public matters.
The US and Texas are the latter
type of democracy.
This is what it means to be a
republic. One difference between
the states is whether they allow
opportunities for the electorate to
vote directly for some items.
When we cover this further in a
future lecture we will make a
distinction between states that
were impacted by the progressive
movement in the early 20th
Century and those that were not.
Those states altered their
constitutions to allow for statewide
initiative, referenda and recall
elections.
While local government in the
state allow for them, they are not
allowed statewide.
For more detail click on the site on
the website of the National
Conference of State Legislatures.
In 2305 we spent time discussing
different ways to define democracy
– the simplest being majority rule.
A more expansive definition also
includes the requirement that
democracies include universal
adult suffrage and protection for
minority rights.
Universal Adult Suffrage
Majority Rule
Minority Rights
We will discuss aspects of each
over the course of the semester.
Suffrage has expanded over the
course of U.S. history and has
generally involved the national
government compelling the states
to expand who they allow to vote.
Tension exists between the values of
majority rule and minority rights.
Majorities commonly attempt to
minimize the rights of minorities
through the democratic process.
Majorities can control democratic
institution and turn them – effectively
into tyrannies.
This is called tyranny of the
majority.
Enhancing the rights of minorities
often involves limiting the
majoritarian democracy.
This is one of the ways that we see
tension between the government f
the state of Texas and the national
government. We’ll discuss this
further later in the semester.
In 2305 we read through Federalist #10,
which was Madison’s attempt to explain
how the US Constitution addresses the
problem of tyranny of the majority by
allowing for the establishment of a republic
over a large territory, which includes many
interests and reduces the change that a
majority group can rally around a single
interest and control all branches of
government.
Permanent majorities will be
unlikely to form at the national
level since they can be easily
broken apart.
The story is different when it
comes to states and local
governments.
A question we will ask throughout
this semester is whether same
dynamic works in Texas.
Madison thought that tyrannical
majorities were more likely to form
at the state, and especially the
local level.
One party can more easily control
a state or local government.
Texas has a history of one party
rule. Does that make Texas prone
to majority tyranny?
“The one pervading evil of
democracy is the tyranny of the
majority, or rather of that party,
not always the majority, that
succeeds, by force or fraud, in
carrying elections.” – Lord Acton.
Democratic Legitimacy
Its suggested that the principle benefit of
democracy is that it allows for a direct
connection to be drawn between the
electorate and the government.
This makes the government – at least in
theory – more susceptible to the
preferences of the general population,
which means that it is more likely to be
considered to be legitimate.
But while democracies offer
legitimacy, but can be unstable and
prone to mob rule.
Legislatures are the institutions
designed to provide that
connection between the people
and the law.
So it becomes the democratic
branch of government.
Legislatures are intended to be
where diverse viewpoints are
heard publicly and policies are
debated and – if the majority
accepts them - adopted.
But legislative assemblies are also where
conflicts over policy are most likely to
come to a head.
They can appear remarkably unstable due
to the debate that is commonly heard in
them – but remember that this is part of
what they are all about. This is what
legislatures are for.
That should be enough to outline
how we will be using the term
“government.”
Again, it will refer to the legislative,
executive, and judicial institutions
on the national, state and local
levels.
Several segments in this class are
focused on Texas’ governing
institutions, specifically how each
is outlined in the Texas
Constitution and how they have
evolved over time.
Now we’ll turn to the institutions
responsible for determining what
governments do – these are the
political institutions.
What is Politics?
Now let’s switch to the term
“Politics.”
Earlier it was defined as follows:
1- The authoritative allocation of values in
society.
2 - The struggle over who gets what when and
how.
3 - Intrigue or maneuvering within a political
unit in order to gain control or power
Simply put, it’s the battle over
what the governing institutions will
do, how they will do it, and who
will do it.
These can be struggles over what people
can be allowed to do (have abortions, use
contraceptives, enter into gay marriages),
what benefits people or groups can receive
(where does the tax burden fall, what
businesses receive incentives and
subsidies) and what activities help certain
groups and parties control governing
institutions.
Politics refers to the external forces
that influence what the people in
governing institutions do.
Notice that each definition above
touches on conflict of some type.
Values – what sorts of things are
right and wrong.
Think of poverty programs,
abortion, gay marriage, etc . . . .
Interests – where and how is
revenue collected where and how
is that revenue spent.
Think of this as a pocketbook issue.
Whose interests are served – and
whose are not – by government
programs, both real and proposed?
And perhaps the most important
aspect of politics is the ongoing
struggle to control the institutions
that then make decisions on values
and interests.
Generally this involves competing
in elections to win control of the
legislative, executive and judicial
branches.
Here is a key point:
The political process is where
people offer – or withhold consent to what governments do.
Politics – the political world in
general - exists because our
constitutions establish elections.
People are then allowed the ability
to participate in them. Consent is
offered or denied through
elections.
In a more direct sense, politics
exists because people are free.
We should reflect on this because not all
governments are based on the people.
Authoritarians and totalitarian systems do not
allow popular input – and can even make it
illegal.
We can engage in political activity because we
live in a system that allows for individual
freedom, including the ability of people to
speak, use the press, form groups and petition
for a redress of grievances.
Think about that the next time you
complain about politics.
It could be worse – you could live
in a system that does not allow
political participation.
In the US and Texas, various
institutions have evolved over time
in order to influence governments.
Many of which have roots that go
back to colonial and British times.
In 2305 I argue that the political
world began to expand
considerably once the arbitrary
power of the monarch was
contained following the signing of
the British Bill of Rights and the
imposition of limits on governing
power.
The executive power was no longer
able to use arbitrary power to
punish people who disagreed with
the government.
People became free to hold and
articulate their own points of view,
and to engage in activities that
allowed them to promote
preferred policies.
As we will see, this is a simplification. Limits still
existed, but they began to be eroded.
Just who is able to participate
politically – effectively – is an
ongoing question.
There are three dominant political
institutions:
political parties
interest groups
the media
I’ll introduce each below, but first a
word or two on public opinion,
Texas, like the other states and the
nation as a whole, is a democratic
republic which rests on the general
population.
The policies Texas adopts are assumed
to be based on the general
preferences of the public.
But governing officials are actually
more attuned to the interests of those
who participate actively in politics.
This isn’t necessarily the same as the
majority.
This is an important point that we
will touch on repeated throughout
the class. Its not “the people” that
count when it comes to
determining what Texas
government does, its what “the
participants” want that really
matters.
As we will see in an upcoming set
of slides, Texas – statewide –
contains majorities that tend to
support conservative policies. And
even when clear majorities do not
support these policies, the
dominant political institutions do.
Texas tends to be a low tax, low
services state, that also supports
conservative social policies.
But there is no consensus on this.
A quick comment on ideology.
In 2305 we defined ideology as a
set of issue positions based on an
underlying value.
A value being a sense of right and
wrong and an issue position being
an opinion on a topical issue.
We focused attention on the
importance on the importance of
three dominant values: Liberty,
Equality, and Tradition.
In Texas, the values of liberty and
tradition tend to dominate the value of
equality.
This isn’t the case in other states or,
depending on who controls national
institutions, the national government.
As we will see, this is the source of the
bulk of political conflict in the US.
Many people do not spending too
much time figuring out how they
should be positioned on different
issues and therefore adopt a primary
value and use cues received from
trusted sources to determine how they
should position themselves on specific
issues.
They often adopt a primary media source
because is confirms their value system and
allows them to interpret events in a
manner that conforms to that value.
Again, this creates conflict. People who
watch – for example – Fox News have a
different world view than those who watch
the mainstream media.
At this writing (5/20/12) gay
marriage is a dominant issue due
to President Obama’s recent
statement of personal support for
it.
People whose primary value is
equality or liberty are generally in
favor of gay marriage.
It allows different people to be
treated equally before the law, as
well as the freedom to enter into
relationships they chose.
Traditionalists – which also refers
to the religious – see this as an
affront to the traditional definition
of marriage.
They are all correct within their
own spheres. The question is, how
have a given value system and how
many then come to the conclusion
about the policy due to their value
system?
To complicate things further, not all local
areas – especially the large metropolitan
areas – share these positions, so areas of
conflict do exist. The cities of Austin,
Houston and Dallas tend to be more liberal
than the state as a whole.
We will also dig into the conflict this
creates later.
More on this conflict later.
Interests also matter.
As with other states, certain issues
are more important in Texas, based
on which interests are dominant
within the state, and the content of
the political culture – which we
cover more fully elsewhere.
No surprise, but energy,
commerce, aerospace and a
handful of other issues are
especially important in the state
and local areas.
In the local area, this includes
medical and high tech research.
Now let’s introduce ourselves to
some of the dominant political
institutions in the state and local
areas.
The goal is to become familiar with
these terms so you can use them
fluently as we proceed.
Political parties are groups of
individuals organized formally who
unite to compete in elections. By
winning office they can control
governing institutions and are in a
good position to implement their
desired policies.
As is the case nationally, and in each of
the states, the two dominant parties in
the state are the Democratic and
Republican parties. But the state
parties are very different than the
national parties and can compete with
it to determine what the party really
stands for.
Whereas each party competes with
each other relatively evenly
nationally, Texas has a tendency to
be controlled by one party.
Until the 1960s, the Democratic
Party dominated politics utterly,
but shifts in the national
Democratic Party led conservative
members to gradually leave and
join the Republican Party.
By the early 1990s, the Republican
Party became the dominant force in
the state. They are not as strong as the
Democrats were at their peak, but
they dominate state wide offices like
the governor, and other executive
offices, the US Senator. They have also
recently had comfortable majorities in
the Texas Legislature.
Rule of thumb: There is a party
organization in every level of
government where there is an
election.
This is true down to the precinct.
Point to remember: Each party is
not only organized at the state
level, but also at the county and
precinct levels. Conflict between
each is common.
In addition to looking at the state
Democratic and Republican Parties,
we will be looking at area county
parties as well as local clubs.
While state elections – including
county elections – are partisan
(meaning that candidates run with
party labels), city elections are not.
City and single purpose
government elections (ISD’s, etc…)
are non-partisan.
Interest groups are also defined as
groups of people organized to
pursue a shared policy goal, but
interest groups are narrowly
organized to obtain that goal – not
to contest in elections.
While diverse groups operate
within the state, business groups
and those affiliated with social
conservatives – the Christian Right
– are especially influential within
the state.
The power of those affiliated with
liberal causes – unions, trial
lawyers, the public sector – have
been minimized in recent decades.
But they are still influential.
Two dominant think tanks also
exist which churn out ideas, policy
proposals and talking points for
other political organizations.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation
is a source for conservative policy
proposals.
The Center for Public Policy
Priorities is a source for liberal
policy proposals.,
The press in Texas is dominated by
a handful of newspapers, none of
which has a huge impact
nationally.
Austin American Statesman
Dallas Morning News
Houston Chronicle
A recent entry in the market is the
online newspaper The Texas
Tribune.
As with all newspapers and media
sources, they contain editorial
boards that take positions on
policy issues and make
recommendations for candidates
for various elected offices.
Public Policy
No surprise, but there are several
definitions of public policy.
Here are a couple
And a couple for Public Policy:
1 - Public policy is a course of action adopted
and pursued by a government.
2 - Public policy is a purposive and consistent
course of action produced as a response to a
perceived problem of a constituency, formulated
by a specific political process, and adopted,
implemented, and enforced by a public agency.
- click here for the source.
Public policy is the stuff
government does (or chooses not
to do) to deal with a problem that
has emerged on the public’s
agenda.
Here are examples
Energy Policy
Education Policy
Defense Policy
Health Policy
Criminal Justice Policy
Another way we can define
“government” is those institutions
that are responsible for
establishing and implementing
those policies.
In 2305’s discussion of federalism,
we mentioned that certain policies
tend to fall more squarely on the
national, state or local level.
National policies tend to be those
that are delegated to the national
government in the Constitution.
These are mostly commercial and
military in nature. Foreign policy is
almost fully controlled by the
national government.
The constitution also contains the
Tenth Amendment which
establishes that powers (policies)
not restricted to the states are
reserved to them – which carries
the assumption that the national
government cannot pass laws
about them.
These are often referred to as the
police powers.
The power to regulate the health,
safety, welfare and morals of a
community.
Sometimes these policies impact
commerce, which the national government
has used to justify passing laws that affect
police powers.
Crime, for example, impacts the flow of
commerce. The national government has
been able to justify getting involved in
interstate crime on that basis.
The point being: the public policy
process in the United States (like
all aspects of American
government) is very complex and
involves multiple actors motivated
with often competing goals.
Nevertheless, there are certain
types of policies that are mostly
contained within Texas. We will
look at some of these. Especially:
Education Policy
Criminal Justice Policy
Economic Development Policy
Part of what we will be looking at is
the public policy process which
outlines what it takes for a policy
item to be passed into law and
implemented.
There are five steps in the process
– which we will illustrate in more
detail soon enough.
Agenda Setting
Policy Formulation
Policy Adoption
Policy Implementation
Policy Evaluation
Not surprisingly, since new issues
emerge and one solution to a
policy can create other problems,
the public policy process in never
ending.
Some problems – poverty, crime,
etc… - seem to never have
solutions.
The public policy process is where
all the different governing and
political institutions come together
to address – with various degrees
of success – the problems of the
state.
Summary
The simple purpose of this section
was to get you comfortable with
the basic terminology and
concepts we will be using
throughout this class.
This provides a taste of what we
will be hitting harder over the next
few weeks.
Try to memorize as many of these
terms and concepts as you can.
The better you do so, the easier
the rest of this class will be to
follow.