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Policy dynamics and types of agency: From individual to collective patterns of action
Author(s) -
Capano Giliberto,
Galanti Maria Tullia
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european policy analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.558
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2380-6567
DOI - 10.1002/epa2.1031
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , context (archaeology) , dynamics (music) , action (physics) , relevance (law) , order (exchange) , process (computing) , grasp , public relations , knowledge management , computer science , political science , business , sociology , social science , pedagogy , physics , quantum mechanics , law , paleontology , finance , biology , programming language , operating system
Despite the relevance of structures and constraints to the outcomes of policy‐making, agency emerges as a key aspect in accounting for policy dynamics. Indeed, agency is a concept that may embrace different components according to their empirical reference and policy context. In policy studies, different agents are conceptualized to be relevant in policy‐making, but they address the issues of similar individuals who randomly jump into the policy process to make a specific contribution. This paper proposes to de‐personalize agency in policy dynamics by arguing that the different types of agents can be attributed to specific patterns of action and that related tasks are a necessary element of stability and change in policy dynamics. Thus, we propose three types of patterns—entrepreneurship, brokerage, and leadership—and we show how the use of these concepts can help to better order, describe, and grasp agency in policy dynamics.