The role of policy narrators during crisis: A micro‐level analysis of the sourcing, synthesizing, and sharing of policy narratives in rural Texas

How do policymakers respond to crises? The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) answers this question by focusing on the contest over policy narratives. This paper focuses on the individuals constructing those policy narratives, conceptualizing them as policy narrators. Using a case study approach, we analyze seven counties located in a major oil and gas formation in Texas, which in early 2020 faced both an oil bust and the onset of COVID‐19. We explore four sets of propositions about how policy narrators source, synthesize, and share their policy narratives. We find that while their narratives vary, the structure of those narratives is similar;their backgrounds shape how they source narratives, and they tailor their levels of narrative breach to the action (or inaction) they hope for. They avoid casting other local actors as villains, place their audience as the hero, and situate themselves as either supporting or a member of that audience, stressing their common ties. From these findings, we put forward a working definition of policy narrators, identify how they fit into the NPF, and discuss how they relate to other types of policy actors, including policy entrepreneurs. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Resumen ¿Cómo responden los formuladores de políticas a las crisis? El Marco de Políticas Narrativas (NPF, por sus siglas en inglés) responde a esta pregunta centrándose en el debate sobre las narrativas de las políticas. Este artículo se enfoca en los individuos que construyen esas narrativas de políticas, conceptualizándolos como narradores de políticas. Usando un enfoque de estudio de caso, analizamos siete condados ubicados en una importante formación de petróleo y gas en Texas, que a principios de 2020 se enfrentó tanto a una caída del petróleo como a la aparición de COVID‐19. Exploramos cuatro conjuntos de proposiciones sobre cómo los narradores de políticas obtienen, sintetizan y comparten sus narrativas de políticas. Encontramos que mientras sus narrativas varían, la estructura de esas narrativas es similar;sus antecedentes dan forma a cómo obtienen las narrativas;y adaptan sus niveles de ruptura narrativa a la acción (o inacción) que esperan. Evitan presentar a otros actores locales como villanos, colocan a su audiencia como el héroe y se sitúan a sí mismos como apoyo o como miembro de esa audiencia, enfatizando sus lazos comunes. A partir de estos hallazgos, presentamos una definición de trabajo de los narradores de políticas, identificamos cómo encajan en el NPF y discutimos cómo se relacionan con otros tipos de actores de políticas, incluidos los empresarios de políticas. (Spanish) [ FROM AUTHOR] 摘要 政策制定者如何响应危机?叙事政策框架(NPF)通过聚焦于政策叙事的竞争，对该问题进行了回答。本文聚焦于对这些政策叙事加以建构的个体，将他们概念化为政策叙事者。通过使用一项案例研究方法，我们分析了位于德克萨斯州主要石油天然气岩层的七个县，这些县在2020年初面临着石油危机和2019冠状病毒病(COVID‐19)的爆发。我们探究了关于"政策叙事者如何获取、综合和分享其政策叙事”的四组命题。我们发现，虽然他们的叙事各不相同，但这些叙事的结构是相似的；他们的背景决定了其如何获取叙事；并且他们根据自身所希望的行动(或不行动)来调整其叙事的断裂程度。他们避免将其他的地方行动者塑造成反面人物(villain)，将其受众视为正面人物(hero)，并将自己定位为受众支持者或受众的一员，强调其共同关系。根据这些发现，我们提出了关于政策叙事者的初步定义，识别了其如何融入NPF，并探讨了其如何与其他类型的政策行动者(包括政策企业家)相联系。 (Chinese) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Policy Studies Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

How gender is socially constructed in policy making processes: a case study of the Adolescent and Youth Health Policy in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Gender equality remains an outstanding global priority, more than 25 years after the landmark Beijing Platform for Action. The disconnect between global health policy intentions and implementation is shaped by several conceptual, pragmatic and political factors, both globally and in South Africa. Actor narratives and different framings of gender and gender equality are one part of the contested nature of gender policy processes and their implementation challenges. The main aim of this paper is to foreground the range of policy actors, describe their narratives and different framings of gender, as part exploring the social construction of gender in policy processes, using the Adolescent Youth Health Policy (AYHP) as a case study. METHODS: A case study design was undertaken, with conceptual underpinnings combined from gender studies, sociology and health policy analysis. Through purposive sampling, a range of actors were selected, including AYHP authors from government and academia, members of the AYHP Advisory Panel, youth representatives from the National Department of Health Adolescent and Youth Advisory Panel, as well as adolescent and youth health and gender policy actors, in government, academia and civil society. Qualitative data was collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 30 policy actors between 2019 and 2021. Thematic data analysis was used, as well as triangulation across both respondents, and the document analysis of the AYHP. RESULTS: Despite gender power relations and more gender-transformative approaches being discussed during the policy making process, these were not reflected in the final policy. Interviews revealed an interrelated constellation of diverse and juxtaposed actor gender narratives, ranging from framing gender as equating girls and women, gender as inclusion, gender as instrumental, gender as women's rights and empowerment and gender as power relations. Some of these narrative framings were dominant in the policy making process and were consequently included in the final policy document, unlike other narratives. The way gender is framed in policy processes is shaped by actor narratives, and these diverse and contested discursive constructions were shaped by the dynamic interactions with the South Africa context, and processes of the Adolescent Youth Health Policy. These varied actor narratives were further contextualised in terms of reflections of what is needed going forward to advance gender equality in adolescent and youth health policy and programming. This includes prioritising gender and intersectionality on the national agenda, implementing more gender-transformative programmes, as well as having the commitments and capabilities to take the work forward. CONCLUSIONS: The constellation of actors' gender narratives reveals overlapping and contested framings of gender and what is required to advance gender equality. Understanding actor narratives in policy processes contributes to bridging the disconnect between policy commitments and reality in advancing the gender equality agenda.

Emergency politics, mass sentiment and the EU during Covid

During crises, do emergency politics impair the EU polity by alienating Europeans? Recent literature suggests that executive decisions in hard times can spur negative European sentiment, increase polarisation in the public and thus create more problems than solutions. The Covid-19 pandemic offers an ideal opportunity to study this important issue. However, studying mass sentiment towards the EU is mostly constrained by imperfect survey data. We tackle this challenge with an empirical strategy that combines two original data sources: first, we use policy process analysis to identify key EU decisions;second, we leverage Twitter data to measure sentiment. As a result, we can study whether key EU decisions impacted EU sentiment and whether this impact is conditional on the level of EU competence, prior politicisation and problem pressure. We find that EU decisions impact EU sentiment positively and do not polarise it (even among highly politicised decisions). Low prior politicisation and healthcare-related decisions increase the positive impact of EU actions. There is thus no punishment of the EU for acting outside its remit. Our findings have important implications for the politics of polity maintenance in the EU. © 2023, The Author(s).

Governance for post-COVID-19 carbon reduction: A case study of the transport sector

This chapter argues that carbon reduction goals in the transport sector should be achieved through the management of policy making and implementation processes, based on a transport-sector carbon emissions identity and the DIRECT approach. Based on the above identity, it is argued that carbon emissions from the transport sector can be reduced from the following six connected domains: (1) carbon intensity of energy consumption from transport, (2) energy consumption from transport, (3) transport pressures from life and business activities, (4) high-carbon life and business activities, (5) changing the needs in life and business, and (6) population policy. The DIRECT approach includes six steps: (1) Detect, (2) Inform/Intervene, (3) React, (4) Enlighten/Enforce/Evaluate, (5) Collaborate, and (6) Transfer, which should be applied to manage each of the above six domains. The “6-domain and 6-step” is proposed as an integrated policy framework for reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector in a seamless way.

Understanding and strengthening wildlife and zoonotic disease policy processes: A research imperative.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgency and importance of monitoring, managing and addressing zoonotic diseases, and the acute challenges of doing so with sufficient inter-jurisdictional coordination in a dynamic global context. Although wildlife pathogens are well-studied clinically and ecologically, there is very little systematic scholarship on their management or on policy implications. The current global pandemic therefore presents a unique social science research imperative: to understand how decisions are made about preventing and responding to wildlife diseases, especially zoonoses, and how those policy processes can be improved as part of early warning systems, preparedness and rapid response. To meet these challenges, we recommend intensified research efforts towards: (i) generating functional insights about wildlife and zoonotic disease policy processes, (ii) enabling social and organizational learning to mobilize those insights, (iii) understanding epistemic instability to address populist anti-science and (iv) anticipating evolving and new zoonotic emergences, especially their human dimensions. Since policy processes for zoonoses can be acutely challenged during the early stages of an epidemic or pandemic, such insights can provide a pragmatic, empirically-based roadmap for enhancing their robustness and efficacy, and benefiting long-term decision-making efforts.

Methods for Evaluating Environmental Health Impacts at Different Stages of the Policy Process in Cities.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Evaluating the environmental health impacts of urban policies is critical for developing and implementing policies that lead to more healthy and equitable cities. This article aims to (1) identify research questions commonly used when evaluating the health impacts of urban policies at different stages of the policy process, (2) describe commonly used methods, and (3) discuss challenges, opportunities, and future directions. RECENT FINDINGS: In the diagnosis and design stages of the policy process, research questions aim to characterize environmental problems affecting human health and to estimate the potential impacts of new policies. Simulation methods using existing exposure-response information to estimate health impacts predominate at these stages of the policy process. In subsequent stages, e.g., during implementation, research questions aim to understand the actual policy impacts. Simulation methods or observational methods, which rely on experimental data gathered in the study area to assess the effectiveness of the policy, can be applied at these stages. Increasingly, novel techniques fuse both simulation and observational methods to enhance the robustness of impact evaluations assessing implemented policies. The policy process consists of interdependent stages, from inception to end, but most reviewed studies focus on single stages, neglecting the continuity of the policy life cycle. Studies assessing the health impacts of policies using a multi-stage approach are lacking. Most studies investigate intended impacts of policies; focusing also on unintended impacts may provide a more comprehensive evaluation of policies.

Global Public Policy studies

Globalisation has helped to intensify the international flow of people, information and policies. Following this process there has been increasing global concern regarding problems in areas such as immigration, health, poverty, among others. Various agents are transnationally engaged in common responses to these issues. The classic definition of public policies is related to actions undertaken by governments to solve the problems within their jurisdictions. However, often problems do not respect national boundaries. Sometimes, policies need to involve other nations. This article discusses the main issues, concepts and challenges in the study of global public policies. First, the article presents a review of the existing literature. Second, it introduces the key agents and agendas of global public policy. The discussion section focuses on the latest challenges and opportunities for research in Global Public Policy studies. Finally, new avenues of research are introduced, such as the dimension of power, the impact of the far-right and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. © Policy Press 2022