BUREAUCRACY AND POLICY FORMULATION
The Impact of Bureaucracy on Policy Formulation
Introduction
There are various definitions that have been offered in the past in an attempt to define or describe public policy. Thus, there is no universal definition assigned to the concept of public policy. However, to a large extent, public policy could be perceived as the course of action taken by the government of the day about an issue or problem that is up for consideration and that has an impact on public good and wellbeing. Thus, we could think of public policy in terms of the various local ordinances, decisions, as well as executive decisions, regulations and government laws. The policy formulation phase happens to be very instrumental as it largely revolves around deliberations on how to go about addressing concerns brought forwards as part of the agenda. The role that bureaucrats play in policy formulation has not been properly investigated in the past. This paper concerns itself with the influence of bureaucrats in public policy formulation.
Discussion
Although distinct in their own right, policy implementation and policy formulation are interrelated. This is more so the case given that in addition to being means to the same end, they seek the input of diverse stakeholders within and outside government. Some of the key stakeholders on this front are inclusive of, but they are not limited to, the legislature and the administrative arm of government. As it has been pointed out elsewhere in this text, traditionally, many have had the erroneous assumption that policy is laid down by the legislature with zero involvement of the administrative arm of government. Even in those instances where they are involved in policy formulation, theoretical constructs view them as neutral participants. This is because as per this particular theoretical perspective, their service is not offered to the party in power, but to the government. This text demonstrates otherwise. Indeed, it is clear that bureaucrats are actively involved in giving substance and form to public policies. The influence of bureaucrats in policy formulation is likely to keep growing forward.
From the onset, it would be prudent to note that as Schnose (2015) points out, comparative politics scholars have in the past made the assumption that the most crucial participants in efforts to ensure that the preferences of citizens are translated into certain policy effects or end results are political parties. It should, however, be pointed out that in the words of the author, the crucial but often forgotten link between preferences, parties, and outcomes is the bureaucracy (Schnose, 2015, p. 73). In the past, the general perspective has been that the influence of bureaucrats is only felt in policy implementation. As a matter of fact, this has largely been the focus of...
Studying bureaucratic influence in the realm of policy formulation is crucial because, to a large extent, the political process happens to be distinctive and separated from bureaucracy.
According to Barrilleaux, Reenock, and Souva (2017), there is nothing linear about the policy formulation process. This is to say that in addition to being impacted upon or influenced by a wide range of stakeholders, it also happens to be an incremental process. As the authors further point out, traditionally, policy formulation has been deemed to be preserve of the legislature. Further insight and research into the dynamics of the policy formulation process, however, indicates that this is an erroneous assumption. In the opinion of Barrilleaux, Reenock, and Souva (2017), owing to the fact that the setting of the policy agenda as well as assessment of policy concerns are crucial aspects of policy formulation, bureaucracy must (almost...
…(p. 313).
In the end, the extent to which a policy is implementable depends on how realistic it is. Bureaucrats are best placed to determine how realistic proposed policies are owing to their experience and knowledge on issues relating to public service. It therefore follows that the insight that the said bureaucrats offer elected public officials is of great relevance. However, to offer good insight on policy issues during the implementation phase, there is need for bureaucrats to remain apolitical. This should, however, not be taken to mean that they should be indifferent to the agenda of the government of the day.
Conclusion
Governments have certain key obligations to the electorate. The said obligations are inclusive of, but they are not limited to, advancement of social justice and human welfare, economy stabilization, protection from external aggression, promotion of law and order, provision of public goods and services, etc. These objectives cannot be accomplished without the formulation and implementation of coherent public policies. The legislature and the executive play a huge role in this regard. However, what has been spotlighted in the past is only the role of legislature in public policy formulation. This text demonstrates that the relevance of bureaucrats cannot also be overstated in this regard. The other arm of the government, i.e. the Judiciary, mostly gets involved in matters revolving around policy review (i.e. in those instances where it appears as if certain constitutional norms have been breached). Owing to their knowledge and experience in matters revolving around public administration, bureaucrats are indispensable in policy formulation efforts. They possess unique knowledge of diverse aspects of the government to be able to effectively distinguish between that which is feasible and that which is not. They could, thus, offer crucial insights and initiate improvements that further refine proposed policies. Thus, in the final analysis,…
