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Does the Narrative Policy Framework Apply to Local Policy Issues?
Author(s) -
O’Donovan Kristin Taylor
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.259
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 1555-5623
DOI - 10.1111/polp.12265
Subject(s) - narrative , blame , depiction , policy analysis , scholarship , narrative network , narrative criticism , narrative inquiry , political science , state (computer science) , sociology , positive economics , public administration , economics , psychology , social psychology , computer science , literature , law , art , algorithm
To what extent does the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) apply to local policy issues? The scholarship developing the NPF as a theoretical framework has focused on national, state, or regional policy problems with very little attention to local ones. This article contributes to the literature on policy narratives, finding that the use of narrative elements by coalitions is more nuanced in highly localized policy settings than the current theory suggests. In particular, the depiction of characters and assignment of blame differs more in local settings than the NPF would indicate. Hypotheses about key narrative elements of characters, causal mechanisms, narrative story type, and policy solutions are tested using data from a content analysis of 202 policy narratives about the residential water shutoffs in Detroit during 2014. Findings support the use of the NPF for local policy issues and the importance of depicting characters as beneficiaries rather than villains or victims.