What normative theories underpin the field?
The field of public policy focuses on “the public and its problems” (Dewey, 1927) It is concerned with how issues and problems come to be defined and constructed and how they are placed on the political and policy agenda. But it is also a study of “how, why, and to what extent governments pursue particular courses of action and inaction” (Heidenheimer et al, 1990) or, as Dye puts it, with “what governments do, why they do it, and what difference it makes” (Dye, 1976). The idea of public policy presupposes that there is a sphere or domain of life that is not private or purely individual, but held in common. Deborah Stone refers to this as the polis (from Aristotle for those of you who follow philosophy — he defined it as the highest form of human association). I think of public policy as a hybrid of political science and public administration, with a little sociology, psychology, economics, management, and philosophy thrown in. Normative theories guide policy analysis efforts. For exam
