Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-nwzlb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T13:32:04.906Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - Making and Unmaking Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Clifford Bob
Affiliation:
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
Get access

Summary

To reach their goals, activists work not only to persuade decision makers but also to defeat powerful networks promoting contrary aims. These battles and their strategic anticipation influence whether a policy will be adopted. They affect where and how those fights will be fought. They shape mobilization and the very identity of opposing networks.

This spotlight on conflict does not simply supplement current ways of understanding advocacy. Rather, in explaining how policy networks operate, I place contention at the heart of analysis – as it is at the nub of politics. I devote equal attention to equally powerful contenders whatever their ideology, and I restore the true nature of their clashes. As Craig Murphy has written, these involve “struggles over wealth, power, and knowledge.” Or, in Lewis Coser's more biting terms, social conflict is “a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure or eliminate their rivals.” Most scholars have highlighted the first part of Coser's definition, downplaying the crucial, if less savory, second. Certainly, it is easier to analyze one complex phenomenon rather than two or more colliding. A network's promotion of its own goals, however, is intertwined with struggle against its adversaries. To turn one's eyes from the clash is to miss decisive events. Of course at moments, rivals may engage in high-minded dialogue. More typically, advocates work to destroy their foes’ reputations, ideas, and values. Compromises are viewed not as best possible agreements but as regrettable failures to reach maximal ends.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Murphy, Global Governance: Poorly Done and Poorly UnderstoodInternational Affairs 75 2000 789CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coser, LewisThe Functions of Social ConflictNew YorkFree Press 1964Google Scholar
Finnemore, MarthaSikkink, KathrynInternational Norm Dynamics and Political ChangeInternational Organization 52 1998 887CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Badescu, Cristina G.Weiss, Thomas G.Misrepresenting R2P and Advancing Norms: An Alternative Spiral?International Studies Review 11 2010 354Google Scholar
Boli, JohnThomas, George M.World Culture in the World Polity: A Century of International Non-Governmental OrganizationAmerican Sociological Review 62 1997 171CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lechner, Frank J.Boli, JohnWorld Culture: Origins and ConsequencesMalden, MABlackwell 2005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Risse, ThomasSikkink, KathrynThe Socialization of Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practices: IntroductionThe Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic ChangeCambridgeCambridge University Press 1999CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkpatrick, Jeane J.Dictatorships and Double Standards: Rationalism and Reason in PoliticsNew YorkSimon & Schuster 1983Google Scholar
Thiessen, Marc A.Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next AttackWashington, DCRegnery 2010Google Scholar
Dershowitz, Alan M.Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the ChallengeNew Haven, CTYale University Press 2002Google Scholar
Cooley, AlexanderRon, JamesThe NGO Scramble: Organizational Insecurity and the Political Economy of Transnational ActionInternational Organization 27 2002 5Google Scholar
Hertel, ShareenUnexpected Power: Conflict and Change among Transnational ActivistsIthaca, NYCornell University Press 2006Google Scholar
Carpenter, R. CharliOrphaned Again? Children Born of Wartime Rape as a Non-Issue for the Human Rights MovementThe International Struggle for New Human RightsPhiladelphia, PAUniversity of Pennsylvania Press 2009 14Google Scholar
Bob, CliffordThe Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International ActivismCambridgeCambridge University Press 2005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milner, Helen V.Interests, Institutions, and Information: Domestic Politics and International RelationsPrinceton, NJPrinceton University Press 1997Google Scholar
McAdam, DougTarrow, SidneyTilly, CharlesDynamics of ContentionCambridgeCambridge University Press 2002Google Scholar
Owen, John M.The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, 1510–2010Princeton, NJPrinceton University Press 2010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, David S.Staggenborg, SuzanneMovements, Countermovements, and the Structure of Political OpportunityAmerican Journal of Sociology 101 1996 1628CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabatier, PaulWeible, Christopher M.The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Innovations and ClarificationsTheories of the Policy Process,Boulder, COWestview 2007Google Scholar
Fetner, TinaHow the Religious Right Shaped Lesbian and Gay ActivismMinneapolisUniversity of Minnesota Press 2008Google Scholar
Jasper, James M.Getting Your Way: Strategic Dilemmas in the Real WorldChicagoUniversity of Chicago Press 2006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manheim, Jarol B.Strategy in Information and Influence Campaigns: How Policy Advocates, Social Movements, Insurgent Groups, Corporations, Governments and Others Get What They WantNew YorkRoutledge 2011Google Scholar
Nadelmann, Ethan A.Global Prohibition Regimes: The Evolution of Norms in International SocietyInternational Organization 44 1990 479CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andreas, PeterNadelmann, EthanPolicing the Globe: Criminalization and Crime Control in International RelationsOxfordOxford University Press 2006Google Scholar
Busby, Joshua W.Moral Movements and Foreign PolicyCambridgeCambridge University Press 2010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAdam, DougPolitical Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930–1970ChicagoUniversity of Chicago Press 1999CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Busby, Joshua W., 61--63; Michael Barnett and Raymond DuvallPower in Global GovernanceCambridgeCambridge University Press 2005Google Scholar
Scott, James C.Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant ResistanceNew Haven, CTYale University Press, 1987Google Scholar
Kingdon, John W.Agendas, Alternatives, and Public PoliciesNew YorkHarperCollins 1995 94Google Scholar
Haas, Peter M.Introduction: Epistemic Communities and International Policy Coordination,International Organization 46 1992 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, RichardReversing the Gun Sights: Transnational Civil Society Targets LandminesInternational Organization 52 1998 613CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Risse, generally ThomasLet's Argue!” Communicative Action in World PoliticsInternational Organization 54 2000 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snow, David A.Benford, Robert D.Master Frames and Cycles of ProtestFrontiers in Social Movement TheoryNew Haven, CTYale University Press 1992 133Google Scholar
Lakoff, GeorgeDon't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate – The Essential Guide for ProgressivesWhite River Junction, VTChelsea Green 2004Google Scholar
Glendon, Mary AnnRights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political DiscourseNew YorkFree Press 1991Google Scholar
Payne, Rodger A.Persuasion, Frames and Norm ConstructionEuropean Journal of International Relations 7 2001 37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snow, David A.Vliegenthart, RensCorrigall-Brown, CatherineFraming the French Riots: A Comparative Study of Frame VariationSocial Forces 86 2007 385CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blok, AndersContesting Global Norms: Politics of Identity in Japanese Pro-Whaling CountermobilizationGlobal Environmental Politics 8 2008 39CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldsmith, Jack L.Posner, Eric A.The Limits of International LawOxfordOxford University Press 2005Google Scholar
Glennon, Michael J.Limits of Law, Prerogatives of Power: Interventionism after KosovoNew YorkPalgrave MacMillan 2001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koh, Harold HongjuFrankel Lecture: Bringing International Law HomeHouston Law Review 35 1998 623Google Scholar
Crenson, MathewThe Un-Politics of Air Pollution: A Study of Non-Decisionmaking in the CitiesBaltimoreJohns Hopkins University Press 1971Google Scholar
Gaventa, JohnPower and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian ValleyChampaignUniversity of Illinois Press 1980Google Scholar
Stone, DeborahPolicy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision MakingNew YorkW.W. Norton 2001Google Scholar
Haas, Mark L.The Ideological Origins of Great Power Politics, 1789-1989Ithaca, NYCornell University Press 2005Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Making and Unmaking Policy
  • Clifford Bob, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
  • Book: The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139031042.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Making and Unmaking Policy
  • Clifford Bob, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
  • Book: The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139031042.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Making and Unmaking Policy
  • Clifford Bob, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
  • Book: The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139031042.003
Available formats
×