The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning [Paperback]

Frank Fischer (Editor), John Forester (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0822313723 | ISBN-13: 978-0822313724 | Publication Date: September 15, 1993

Public policy is made of language. Whether in written or oral form, argument is central to all parts of the policy process. As simple as this insight appears, its implications for policy analysis and planning are profound. Drawing from recent work on language and argumentation and referring to such theorists as Wittgenstein, Habermas, Toulmin, and Foucault, these essays explore the interplay of language, action, and power in both the practice and the theory of policy-making.
The contributors, scholars of international renown who range across the theoretical spectrum, emphasize the political nature of the policy planner's work and stress the role of persuasive arguments in practical decision making. Recognizing the rhetorical, communicative character of policy and planning deliberations, they show that policy arguments are necessarily selective, both shaping and being shaped by relations of power. These essays reveal the practices of policy analysts and planners in powerful new ways--as matters of practical argumentation in complex, highly political environments. They also make an important contribution to contemporary debates over postempiricism in the social and policy sciences.

Contributors. John S. Dryzek, William N. Dunn, Frank Fischer, John Forester, Maarten Hajer, Patsy Healey, Robert Hoppe, Bruce Jennings, Thomas J. Kaplan, Duncan MacRae, Jr., Martin Rein, Donald Schon, J. A. Throgmorton

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book has the potential to be important in the field, the leading statement for a movement. It does not call merely for words to balance the statistics, as in the tired debate between the humanities and the sciences. On the contrary, it argues that the words and the statistics are all part of the argument. The contributors apply theories of judgment ranging from classical rhetoric to modern theories of narrative to see the judging whole. The book proposes a new way to see old debates. . . . In short, the book is excellent."—Donald N. McCloskey, University of Iowa

About the Author

Frank Fischer is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University in Newark and a member of the Bloustein Graduate School of Planning and Public Policy on the New Brunswick campus.

John Forester is Professor of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books (September 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822313723
• ISBN-13: 978-0822313724
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Hoppe (1950) holds B.A.'s in Sociology (1971) and Political Science (1971), and an M.A. (cum laude) in Political Science (1974) from Radboud University Nijmegen. His dissertation, Economic Affairs Drafts a New Policy. Policy Design and Decision Making on a Nonincremental Policy, Free University Press, 1983, received the Dutch Association for Public Administration's Annual Van Poelje Award for best dissertation of the year.

In 1986-1997 Hoppe was affiliated to the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Political and Socio-Cultural Sciences, as professor and chair of Public Administration.

In 1992-3 he spent a year as visiting professor and Fulbright Fellow at Rutgers University, New Jersey, doing research and teaching on issues of Science, Technology, Society and Public Policy.

Since September 1997 he is professor of Policy and Knowledge of Twente University's Faculty of Management and Governance. In September 2005 he joined the Department for Science, Technology, and Policy Studies (STəPS).

Research
Fields of interest are long term policy dynamics and innovation, esp. the role of technology; methodological and institutional implications of deliberative policy analysis; the governance of expertise; and applications of Q Method.

Publications
Hoppe (co-) authored/edited twenty books, and a hundred research articles and book chapters. His publications (in English) include (together with dr. A. Peterse), Handling Frozen Fire. Political Culture and Risk Management" (Westview Press, Bouder, 1993), Technology Assessment Through Interaction. A Guide (with dr. J. Grin and dr. H. van de Graaf, Rathenau Institute, The Hague, 1997), and he is co-editor (with Matthijs Hisschemöller, Bill Dunn and Jerry Ravetz) of Knowledge, Power, and Participation in Environmental Policy Analysis " (Policy Studies Review Annual, Vol. 12, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, 2001); The Governance of Problems. Puzzling, Powering, and Participation(Policy Press, Bristol, 2010); Working for Policy (Amsterdam University Press, 2010), with Hal K. Colebatch and Mirko Noordegraaf.