Explaining public policy - J. A Chandler

Public Policy and Private Interest explains the complexities of the policy making process in a refreshingly clear way for students who are new to this subject. The key topics it explains are:

• How policy originates, is refined, legitimised, implemented, evaluated and terminated in the forms of theoretical models of the policy process;
• Which actors and institutions are most influential in determining the nature of policy;
• The values that shape the policy agenda such as ideology, institutional self-interest and resource capabilities;
• The outcome of policies, and why they succeed or fail;
• The main policy theories including the very latest insights from network theory and post-modernism;
• How national policy is influenced by globalization.

The text is fully illustrated throughout with a broad range of national and international case studies on subjects such as the banking crisis, the creation of unitary authorities and global environmental policy and regulation.

Combining both a clear summary of debates and theories in public policy and a new and original approach to the subject, this book is essential reading for students of public policy and policy analysis.

J.A Chandler is Emeritus Professor of Local Governance in the Faculty of Organisation and Management at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. He has published extensively in the field of public policy and administration with a particular emphasis on local governance.

'This is a cogent and well written exposition of the complex nature of the public policy process. It is a process shot through with differing values and self interest. Yet, as the book rightly argues seeking policy solutions to complex problems is a crucial part of the political realm. A key strength of the book is the way it combines theoretical analysis and a discussion of some of the key policy challenges of today.' - Hugh Atkinson, London South Bank University, UK.

'In Public Policy and Private Interest Jim Chandler gives the public policy text book a much needed make-over. Chandler covers a wide range of thinkers, concepts and debates expertly and with a welcome lightness of touch. The book will be an invaluable text for any undergraduate or masters level public policy course.' - Jonathan Davies, De Montfort University, UK.