Government Institutions and Policy Actors

1. Government Institutions and Policy Actors

2. Growth of Government • Growth (area and population) • Increased complexity of society • Business regulation • Protection of social welfare • America’s international role • Citizen demands

3. Policy Stalemate and Capacity • Stalemate (gridlock) • When decision makers are unable or unwilling to compromise in a manner that permits public policy action • Policy capacity • A government’s ability to identify and evaluate public problems, and to develop policies to deal with them

4. The Governance Structure Of Policymaking • Formal: complexity and fragmentation • Federalism • Separation of powers • Informal • Public opinion • Interest groups • Policy subsystems

5. Federalism • Evolution of federalism • Pre-Civil War • Dual federalism • Cooperative federalism • Continuing controversies • money • (State) expectations • State variation in policy capacity • Devolution of authority to the states (The pros and cons)

6. Separation of Powers • What: power is shared among three branches • Legislative, executive, and judicial • Founders were concerned with possibility of government tyranny • Adds to the complexity of governing • Adds to the challenge of building consensus for policy action, especially between the legislature and executive

7. Separation of Powers: Policymakers • Legislature – lawmaking • Bicameral system (House & Senate) • Committee system (division & specialization of labor) • Executive – law enforcing • President/bureaucracy involved in policy development • Bureaucratic structure • Judicial – law interpreting • Reactive rather than proactive • Judicial review

8. Organizational Formats • Legislative organizations (e.g., committees, individual members, party leadership) • Executive branch organizations • Cabinet departments & their subagencies • Independent executive agencies (e.g., EPA, the various Executive Office of the President agencies) • Independent regulatory commissions • Courts (district, special jurisdiction, appellate, Supreme Court)

9. Informal Actors: Public Opinion • Public opinion • Is important in a democratic system • Is fleeting • Many people are inattentive to politics and policy • Can be voiced in numerous ways • Can have an impact, if people are willing to take the time/make the effort • Can lead to interest group formation and activity • Salience and stability matter

10. Informal Actors: Interest Groups • Important in politics, governance, and policymaking • Lobbying – all branches, both for/against policies • Money for elections • Use media • Information (substantive and political) • Litigation • Direct contact w/policymakers • Organize & mobilize • Influence & campaign

11. Informal Actors: Policy Subsystems • Informal settings where policies are made • Have been called many different things • Subgovernments • Issue networks • Iron triangles

12. Subsystems – Traditional “Iron Triangles” Bureaucratic Agency Policy Support Budget Programs POLICY Interest Group Congressional Committee/Sub Support Money

13. Subsystems Today • Less autonomous than in the past • Greater visibility • More “outside” participation • More policy actors • Term “issue networks” used more now • Reflects evolution of U.S. policymaking • Still important, still provide avenues of participation for experts

14. Policy Stalemate and Capacity, Revisited • Why does stalemate occur? • Constitutional design and divided gov’t • Complex problems • Public opinion and consensus • Organized interests • Ineffective political leadership • Personal relationships • And, perhaps, less-than-desirable policy capacity