1,721,070 research outputs found
Political Brokers and Entrepreneurs: Distinguishing Between Exceptional Agents
No full textThis article contributes to the theoretical discussion about the crucial position of entrepreneurs and brokers in policy networks and provides a test through the analysis of empirical data. Previous studies have demonstrated that exceptional agents play a crucial role in affecting policy outputs and influencing policy change (Schneider and Teske, 1995; Mintrom and Vergari, 1996; Christopoulos, 2006; Ingold, 2008). Earlier empirical analysis however rarely distinguishes entrepreneurs and brokers who are assumed to have similar relational profiles. Policy process theories however, regardless of whether theorized as advocacy coalitions, policy streams or punctuated equilibria invariably accord entrepreneurs and brokers different roles: brokers are assumed to facilitate negotiations and to affect stability within and across networks; while entrepreneurs are assumed to strategically attempt to influence outputs and to gain access in decision making.
Based on network theory and original empirical data, we are able to refine existing conceptual definitions and provide an operationalisation that distinguishes between entrepreneurs and brokers. In our conclusions we offer support to a comprehensive approach in capturing exceptional political action, one that combines data from actors relational profile and attributes with an analysis of a contextual setting on event parameters
Extraordinary agents in policymaking: Differentiating political entrepreneurs from political brokers
No full textExceptional or just well connected? Political entrepreneurs and brokers in policy making
Full text linkPolicy brokers and policy entrepreneurs are assumed to have a decisive impact on policy outcomes. Their access to social and political resources is contingent on their influence on other agents. In social network analysis (SNA), entrepreneurs are often closely associated with brokers, because both are agents presumed to benefit from bridging structural holes; for example, gaining advantage through occupying a strategic position in relational space. Our aim here is twofold. First, to conceptually and operationally differentiate policy brokers from policy entrepreneurs premised on assumptions in the policy-process literature; and second, via SNA, to use the output of core algorithms in a cross-sectional analysis of political brokerage and political entrepreneurship. We attempt to simplify the use of graph algebra in answering questions relevant to policy analysis by placing each algorithm within its theoretical context. In the methodology employed, we first identify actors and graph their relations of influence within a specific policy event; then we select the most central actors; and compare their rank in a series of statistics that capture different aspects of their network advantage. We examine betweenness centrality, positive and negative Bonacich power, Burt’s effective size and constraint and honest brokerage as paradigmatic. We employ two case studies to demonstrate the advantages and limitations of each algorithm for differentiating between brokers and entrepreneurs: one on Swiss climate policy and one on EU competition and transport policy
The roles actors play in policy networks:Central positions in strongly institutionalized fields
No full textCentralities are a widely studied phenomenon in network science. In policy networks, central actors are of interest because they are assumed to control information flows, to link opposing coalitions and to directly impact decision-making. First, we study what type of actor (e.g., state authorities or interest groups) is able to occupy central positions in the highly institutionalized context of policy networks. Second, we then ask whether bonding or bridging centralities prove to be more stable over time. Third, we investigate how these types of centrality influence actors' positions in a network over time. We therefore adopt a longitudinal perspective and run exponential random graph models, including lagged central network positions at t1 as the main independent variable for actors' activity and popularity at t2. Results confirm that very few actors are able to maintain central positions over time.</p
Report on political participation of mobile EU citizens : Greece
Full text linkThis report explores challenges to political participation of mobile EU citizens in Greece. It discusses electoral rights of non-resident citizens and non-citizen residents from the EU in European Parliament and local elections. The report also offers recommendations on how to increase political participation of mobile EU citizens in this country.This report was funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The content of this report represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains
Report on political participation of mobile EU citizens : Greece
Full text linkThis report explores challenges to political participation of mobile EU citizens in Greece. It discusses electoral rights of non-resident citizens and non-citizen residents from the EU in European Parliament and local elections. The report also offers recommendations on how to increase political participation of mobile EU citizens in this country.This report was funded by the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The content of this report represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains
Epistemic communities in universities
Full text linkThe creation of new knowledge, as evidenced by trends in research publications is increasingly a collaborative affair. However, the epistemological assumptions underlying how we see knowledge are predominantly based on a view of knowledge as created and owned by individuals who may then ‘trade’ this ‘commodity’. These assumptions permeate the way we try to manage knowledge creation and dissemination – an issue of increasing centrality for universities. This paper examines the concept of epistemic communities from the strategic view of universities wishing to augment their role as knowledge producers and disseminators. It shines a light on underlying assumptions about the nature of knowledge and offers some alternative more socially oriented views to the prevailing individualist orthodoxy. The paper draws on a range of current studies and quotes expert witnesses to inform how universities could better widen their capacity for novel research, reaching out to a geographically dispersed network of experts and across national and organisational frontiers
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