Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T03:48:32.347Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Policy failures, blame games and changes to policy practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Markus Hinterleitner
Markus Hinterleitner*
Affiliation:
KPM Center for Public Management, University of Bern, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Studies examining the policy implications of elite polarisation usually concentrate on policy formulation and change, but neglect the impact of polarisation on the day-to-day application of policies. Applying the method of causal process tracing to the Swiss “Carlos” case, a blame game triggered by the reporting about an expensive therapy setting for a youth offender, this article exposes and explains a hitherto neglected, but highly important, mechanism between political elites engaging in blame generation and changes in policy practice. A policy’s distance and visibility to mass publics, as well as the incentives and resources of elites to engage in blame generation, explain the dynamics within blame games, which, in turn, effect organisational and behavioural changes that help institutionalise a more politicised policy practice. Politicised policy practice can make an important difference to policy target populations, as well as damage output legitimacy and undermine democracy.

Keywords

blame avoidanceblame gameelite polarisationpolicy failurepolicy practice
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 221 - 242
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press, 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aebersold, P. (2011) Schweizerisches Jugendstrafrecht. Stämpflis juristische Lehrbücher. 2nd ed. Bern: Stämpfli.Google Scholar
Barber, M. J. and McCarty, N. (2015) Causes and Consequences of Polarization. In Persily N. (ed.), Solutions to Political Polarization in America. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 15–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beach, D. and Pedersen, R. B. (2013) Process-Tracing Methods: Foundations and Guidelines . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, A. and Checkel, J. T. (eds.) (2015a) Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool. Strategies for Social Inquiry . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bennett, A. and Checkel, J. T. (2015b) Process Tracing: From Philosophical Roots to Best Practices. In Bennett A. and Checkel J. T. (eds.), Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool. Strategies for Social Inquiry . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 3–37.Google Scholar
Bennett, A. and Elman, C. (2006) Complex Causal Relations and Case Study Methods: The Example of Path Dependence. Political Analysis 14(3): 250–267.Google Scholar
Binder, S. A. (2003) Stalemate: Causes and Consequences of Legislative Gridlock. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Blatter, J. and Haverland, M. (2012) Designing Case Studies: Explanatory Approaches in Small-n Research . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Blick (2013) Jetzt kommt die Lex Carlos, Blick. 18 September.Google Scholar
Bochsler, D., Hänggli, R. and Häusermann, S. (2015) Introduction: Consensus Lost? Disenchanted Democracy in Switzerland. Swiss Political Science Review 21(4): 475–490.Google Scholar
Boin, A., Hart, P. ‘t. and McConnell, A. (2009) Crisis Exploitation: Political and Policy Impacts of Framing Contests. Journal of European Public Policy 16(1): 81–106.Google Scholar
Brady, H. E. and Collier, D. (2010) Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.Google Scholar
Brändström, A. and Kuipers, S. (2003) From “Normal Incidents” to Political Crises: Understanding the Selective Politicization of Policy Failures. Government and Opposition 38(3): 279–305.Google Scholar
Brändström, A., Kuipers, S. and Daléus, P. (2008) The Politics of Tsunami Responses: Comparing Patterns of Blame Management in Scandinavia. In Boin A., McConnell A. and Hart P. ’t. (eds.), Governing After Crisis: The Politics of Investigation, Accountability and Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 114–147.Google Scholar
Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) (2016) Jugendstrafurteilsstatistik, https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/kriminalitaet-strafrecht.html?gnpID=2016-112 (accessed 1 December 2016).Google Scholar
Cantonal Parliament of Zurich (2013) Minutes of the 119th meeting. 2 September.Google Scholar
Checkel, J. T. and Bennett, A. (2015) Beyond Metaphors: Standards, Theory, and the “where next” for Process Tracing. In Bennett A. and Checkel J. T. (eds.), Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool. Strategies for Social Inquiry . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 260–275.Google Scholar
Dewan, T. and Dowding, K. (2005) The Corrective Effect of Ministerial Resignations on Government Popularity. American Journal of Political Science 49(1): 46–56.Google Scholar
Edelman, M. J. (1988) Constructing the Political Spectacle. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Fairfield, T. (2015) Reflections on Analytic Transparency in Process Tracing Research. Qualitative & Multi-Method Research 13(1): 47–51.Google Scholar
Falleti, T. G. and Lynch, J. F. (2009) Context and Causal Mechanisms in Political Analysis. Comparative Political Studies 42(9): 1143–1166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finance Commission of the Canton of Zurich (FIKO) (2014) Bericht der Finanzkommission betreffend Sonderprüfung der Oberjugendanwaltschaft durch die Finanzkontrolle, http://www.kantonsrat.zh.ch/geschaefte/geschaefte.aspx?Titel=sonderpr%C3%BCfung%20der%20Oberjugendanwaltschaft (accessed 1 December 2016).Google Scholar
Fischer, M. (2014) Coalition Structures and Policy Change in a Consensus Democracy. Policy Studies Journal 42(3): 344–366.Google Scholar
Flinders, M. (2014) Explaining Democratic Disaffection: Closing the Expectations Gap. Governance 27(1): 1–8.Google Scholar
Hacker, J. S. and Pierson, P. (2014) After the “Master Theory”: Downs, Schattschneider, and the Rebirth of Policy-Focused Analysis. Perspectives on Politics 12(3): 643–662.Google Scholar
Hall, P. A. (2006) Systematic Process Analysis: When and How to Use it. European Management Review 3(1): 24–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hetherington, M. J. (2009) Review Article: Putting Polarization in Perspective. British Journal of Political Science 39(2): 413–448.Google Scholar
Hinterleitner, M. (2015) Reconciling Perspectives on Blame Avoidance Behaviour. Political Studies Review 1–12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1478–9302.Google Scholar
Hinterleitner, M. and Sager, F. (2015) Avoiding Blame – A Comprehensive Framework and the Australian Home Insulation Program Fiasco. Policy Studies Journal 43(1): 139–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinterleitner, M. and Sager, F. (2016) Anticipatory and Reactive Forms of Blame Avoidance: Of Foxes and Lions. European Political Science Review 1–20. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773916000126.Google Scholar
Hood, C. (2011) The Blame Game: Spin, Bureaucracy, and Self-Preservation in Government . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hood, C., Jennings, W. and Copeland, P. (2016) Blame Avoidance in Comparative Perspective: Reactivity, Staged Retreat and Efficacy. Public Administration 94(2): 542–562.Google Scholar
Hood, C., Jennings, W., Dixon, R., Hogwood, B. and Beeston, C. (2009) Testing Times: Exploring Staged Responses and the Impact of Blame Management Strategies in Two Examination Fiasco Cases. European Journal of Political Research 48(6): 695–722.Google Scholar
Immergut, E. M. (1990) Institutions, Veto Points, and Policy Results: A Comparative Analysis of Health Care. Journal of Public Policy 10(4): 391–416.Google Scholar
Kay, A. and Baker, P. (2015) What Can Causal Process Tracing Offer to Policy Studies? A Review of the Literature. Policy Studies Journal 43(1): 1–21.Google Scholar
Koopmans, R. and Olzak, S. (2004) Discursive Opportunities and the Evolution of Right‐Wing Violence in Germany. American Journal of Sociology 110(1): 198–230.Google Scholar
Kriesi, H., Grande, E., Dolezal, M., Helbling, M., Höglinger, D., Hutter, S. and Wüest, B. (eds.) (2012) Political Conflict in Western Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Layman, G. C., Carsey, T. M. and Horowitz, J. M. (2006) Party Polarization in American Politics: Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences. Annual Review of Political Science 9(1): 83–110.Google Scholar
Lijphart, A. (2012) Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries , 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Lipsky, M. (2010) Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services , 30th ed. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Mahoney, J. and Thelen, K. A. (2010) A Theory of Gradual Institutional Change. In Mahoney J. and Thelen K. A. (eds.), Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency, and Power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–37.Google Scholar
Mazzoleni, G. (2008) Populism and the media. In Daniele A. and Duncan M. (eds.), Twenty-First Century Populism. The Spectre of Western European Democracy. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave McMillan, 49–64.Google Scholar
McGraw, K. M. (1991) Managing Blame: An Experimental Test of the Effects of Political Accounts. American Political Science Review 85(4): 1133–1157.Google Scholar
Mez, B. (2015) Alltag einer Jugendanwältin. In Riklin F. (ed.), Schweizer Jugendstrafrecht: Vorbildlich Oder Überholt?. Bern: Stämpfli, 27–31.Google Scholar
Mortensen, P. B. (2012) “It’s the Central Government’s Fault”: Elected Regional Officials’ Use of Blame-Shifting Rhetoric. Governance 25(3): 439–461.Google Scholar
Mortensen, P. B. (2013) Public Sector Reform and Blame Avoidance Effects. Journal of Public Policy 33(2): 229–253.Google Scholar
Mortensen, P. B. (2016) Agencification and Blame Shifting: Evaluating a Neglected Side of Public Sector Reforms. Public Administration 94(3): 630–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mudde, C. (2013) Three Decades of Populist Radical Right Parties in Western Europe: So What? European Journal of Political Research 52(1): 1–19.Google Scholar
Nai, A. and Walter, A. (eds.) (2015) New Perspectives on Negative Campaigning: Why Attack Politics Matters. ECPR – Studies in European Political Science . Colchester, UK: ECPR Press.Google Scholar
Ninck, M. (2014) Der Verrat. Das Magazin, 28 March, pp. 8–19.Google Scholar
NZZ (2013a) “Carlos” verlegt – SVP-Fraktion fordert PUK: Vier Fraktionen nehmen im Kantonsrat Stellung zum umstrittenen Vorgehen der Jugendanwaltschaft, NZZ. 3 September.Google Scholar
NZZ (2013b) Martin Graf auf Bewährung: Der Zürcher Justizdirektor muss im Fall «Carlos» unangenehme Fragenbeantworten, NZZ. 4 September.Google Scholar
NZZ (2013c) Ein unschöner, tragischer Einzelfall: Justizdirektor Martin Graf und Oberjugendanwalt Marcel Riesen äussern sich zum Fall “Carlos”, NZZ. 7 September.Google Scholar
NZZ (2013d) Die Justizkommission ist im Fall “Carlos” unter Druck: Nach der SVP, der FDP und der BDP schliesstauch die CVP eine PUK nicht aus, NZZ. 10 September.Google Scholar
NZZ (2013e) Zickzack-Kurs im Fall “Carlos”: Kanton Zürich liess offene Unterbringung des Jugendlichen im letzten Moment platzen, NZZ. 24 November.Google Scholar
Sabato, L. (2000) Feeding Frenzy: Attack Journalism and American Politics . Baltimore, MD: Lanahan Publishers.Google Scholar
Scharpf, F. W. (2003) Problem-Solving Effectiveness and Democratic Accountability in the EU. MPIfG Working Paper 3(1): 1–33.Google Scholar
Schattschneider, E. E. (1960) The Semisovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America . New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Schimmelfennig, F. (2015) Efficient Process Tracing: Analyzing the Causal Mechanisms of European Integration. In Bennett A. and Checkel J. T. (eds.), Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool. Strategies for Social Inquiry . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 98–125.Google Scholar
Schneider, A. and Ingram, H. (1993) Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy. American Political Science Review 87(2): 334–347.Google Scholar
Schranz, M. (2015) Carlos Und Die Medien – eine Öffentliche Debatte Kritisch Reflektiert. In Riklin F. (ed.), Schweizer Jugendstrafrecht: Vorbildlich Oder Überholt?. Bern: Stämpfli, 63–77.Google Scholar
Sciarini, P., Manuel, F. and Denise, T. (2015) Political Decision-Making in Switzerland: The Consensus Model Under Pressure . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Soroka, S. N. (2002) Issue Attributes and Agenda-Setting by Media, the Public, and Policymakers in Canada. International Journal of Public Opinion Research 14(3): 264–285.Google Scholar
Soss, J. O. and Schram, S. F. (2007) A Public Transformed? Welfare Reform as Policy Feedback. American Political Science Review 101(1): 111–127.Google Scholar
Tages-Anzeiger (2013a) Carlos wurde in geschlossene Anstalt verlegt, Tages-Anzeiger. 3 September.Google Scholar
Tages-Anzeiger (2013b) Ich hätte Carlos das Sackgeld gekürzt, Tages-Anzeiger. 7 September.Google Scholar
Tages-Anzeiger (2013c) Die SP will die politische Anwältin von Gewaltopfern sein, Tages-Anzeiger. 24 September.Google Scholar
Tages-Anzeiger (2013d) Wer wusste was im Fall Carlos?, Tages-Anzeiger. 9 December.Google Scholar
Urwyler, C. and Nett, J. C. (2012) Evaluation der Wirksamkeit des Neuen Jugendstrafgesetzes. Bern: Berner Fachhochschule.Google Scholar
Vatter, A. (2008) Swiss Consensus Democracy in Transition: A Re-Analysis of Lijphart’s Concept of Democracy for Switzerland from 1997 to 2007. World Political Science 4(2): 1–38.Google Scholar
Waldner, D. (2015) What Makes Process Tracing Good?: Causal Mechanisms, Causal Inference, and the Completeness Standard in Comparative Politics. In Bennett A. and Checkel J. T. (eds.), Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool. Strategies for Social Inquiry . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 126–152.Google Scholar
Weaver, R. K. (1986) The Politics of Blame Avoidance. Journal of Public Policy 6(4): 371–398.Google Scholar
Weaver, R. K. (2013) Policy Leadership and the Blame Trap: Seven Strategies for Avoiding Policy Stalemate. Governance Studies, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Zucker, H. G. (1978) The Variable Nature of News Media Influence. Communication Yearbook 2: 225–240.Google Scholar