Thomas A. Birkland – författare

Even before the wreckage of a disaster is cleared, one question is foremost in the minds of the public: "What can be done to prevent this from happening again?" Today, news media and policymakers often invoke the "lessons of September 11" and the "lessons of Hurricane Katrina." Certainly, these unexpected events heightened awareness about problems that might have contributed to or worsened the disasters, particularly about gaps in preparation. Inquiries and investigations are made that claim that "lessons" were "learned" from a disaster, leading us to assume that we will be more ready the next time a similar threat looms, and that our government will put in place measures to protect us. In "Lessons of Disaster", Thomas Birkland takes a critical look at this assumption. We know that disasters play a role in setting policy agendas - in getting policymakers to think about problems - but does our government always take the next step and enact new legislation or regulations? To determine when and how a catastrophic event serves as a catalyst for true policy change, the author examines four categories of disasters: aviation security, homeland security, earthquakes, and hurricanes.He explores lessons learned from each, focusing on three types of policy change: change in the larger social construction of the issues surrounding the disaster; instrumental change, in which laws and regulations are made; and political change, in which alliances are created and shifted. Birkland argues that the type of disaster affects the types of lessons learned from it, and that certain conditions are necessary to translate awareness into new policy, including media attention, salience for a large portion of the public, the existence of advocacy groups for the issue, and the preexistence of policy ideas that can be drawn upon. This timely study concludes with a discussion of the interplay of multiple disasters, focusing on the initial government response to Hurricane Katrina and the negative effect the September 11 catastrophe seems to have had on reaction to that tragedy.

A concise, accessible introduction to the public policy process that can be read on may levels. The author's direct writing style and extensive use of examples will appeal to students as well as practitioners.The book offers an extensive overview of the best current thinking on the policy process, with an emphasis on accessibility and synthesis rather than novelty or abstraction. An extensive glossary of terms, keyed to the chapters in which each term is most thoroughly discussed; an annotated bibliography; and an introduction to web-based research, with a guide to the most important and reliable public policy research sites, are among the book's many useful features.

Disasters like earthquakes are known as focusing events - sudden calamities that cause both citizens and policymakers to pay more attention to a public problem and often to press for solutions. This book, the first comprehensive analysis of these dramatic events, explains how and why some public disasters change political agendas and, ultimately, public policies. Thomas A. Birkland explores important successes and failures in the policy process by analyzing the political outcomes of four types of events: earthquakes, hurricanes, oil spills, and nuclear accidents. Using this empirical data to go beyond an intuitive understanding of focusing events, he presents a theory of where and when these events will gain attention and how they trigger political reactions. Birkland concludes that different types of disasters result in different kinds of agenda politics. Public outrage over the highly visible damage caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, for example, ended a fourteen-year logjam holding back Congressional legislation to regulate oil spill cleanups.On the other hand, the intangible effects of Three Mile Island had less concrete results in a political arena that was already highly polarized. Integrating a variety of theories on the policy process, including agenda setting, policy communities, advocacy coalitions, the political aspects of the news media, and the use of symbols in political debate, Birkland illuminates the dynamics of event-driven policy activity. As the first extensive study of its kind, this book offers new insights into the policy process.

Now in a thoroughly revised sixth edition, An Introduction to the Policy Process provides students at all levels with an accessible, readable, and affordable introduction to the field of public policy. In keeping with prior editions, author Tom Birkland conveys the best current thinking on the policy process in a clear, conversational style. Designed to address new developments in both policy theory and policymaking, the sixth edition includes:An all‑new chapter exploring the philosophical and normative foundations of American governance, to connect principles such as liberty, equality, representation, and the rule of law to contemporary political debates and tensions;A thoughtful exploration of newer policy theory developments like the Multiple Streams Framework, Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, the Advocacy Coalition Framework, policy diffusion, the Narrative Policy Framework, and the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) and Social‑Ecological Systems (SES) traditions, to help students understand policy change and stability, and to provide a set of analytical tools they can carry with them beyond the classroom;Fully updated chapter summaries, key terms and definitions, provocative review questions, recommended reading, visual aids and case studies, theoretical literature, and PowerPoint slides and Test Banks to make teaching from the book easier than ever.Firmly grounded in both social science and political science, An Introduction to the Policy Process provides the most up‑to‑date and thorough overview of the theory and practice of the policy process, ideal for upper‑level undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in Public Policy, Public Administration, and Political Science programs.

Now in a thoroughly revised sixth edition, An Introduction to the Policy Process provides students at all levels with an accessible, readable, and affordable introduction to the field of public policy. In keeping with prior editions, author Tom Birkland conveys the best current thinking on the policy process in a clear, conversational style. Designed to address new developments in both policy theory and policymaking, the sixth edition includes:An all‑new chapter exploring the philosophical and normative foundations of American governance, to connect principles such as liberty, equality, representation, and the rule of law to contemporary political debates and tensions;A thoughtful exploration of newer policy theory developments like the Multiple Streams Framework, Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, the Advocacy Coalition Framework, policy diffusion, the Narrative Policy Framework, and the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) and Social‑Ecological Systems (SES) traditions, to help students understand policy change and stability, and to provide a set of analytical tools they can carry with them beyond the classroom;Fully updated chapter summaries, key terms and definitions, provocative review questions, recommended reading, visual aids and case studies, theoretical literature, and PowerPoint slides and Test Banks to make teaching from the book easier than ever.Firmly grounded in both social science and political science, An Introduction to the Policy Process provides the most up‑to‑date and thorough overview of the theory and practice of the policy process, ideal for upper‑level undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in Public Policy, Public Administration, and Political Science programs.

Now in a thoroughly revised Fifth Edition, An Introduction to the Policy Process provides students at all levels with an accessible, readable, and affordable introduction to the field of public policy. In keeping with prior editions, author Tom Birkland conveys the best current thinking on the policy process in a clear, conversational style. Designed to address new developments in both policy theory and policy making, the Fifth Edition includes examinations of: the Brexit referendum result and its effects on the UK, European Union, and world politics, as well as the 2016 election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and the ways in which these events have caused voters and policy makers to rethink their assumptions; changes to the media environment, including the decline of newspapers and television news, the growth of social media, and the emergence of "fake news"; new policy theory developments like the emergence of the Narrative Policy Framework and continued and newer applications of existing theories of policy process like Advocacy Coalitions, Multiple Streams, Punctuated Equilibrium, and Institutional Analysis and Development; and all-new and updated chapter "at a glance" outlines, definitions of key terms, provocative review questions, recommended reading, visual aids and case studies, theoretical literature, and preentation slides and Test Banks to make teaching from the book easier than ever. Firmly grounded in both social science and political science, An Introduction to the Policy Process provides the most up-to-date and thorough overview of the theory and practice of the policy process, ideal for upper-level undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in Public Policy, Public Administration, and Political Science programs.