Analyzing the association of policy narratives with problem tractability in the implementation of EU decisions: Evidence from the phytosanitary policy area

The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) suggests that narratives can be employed to define and contest policy problems. Yet, few NPF studies have explicitly addressed the narrative portrayal of problem intractability. What role do narratives play in a situation of uncertainty about the causes and solutions of the problem, when strong divergences regarding the values and interests of the policy actors exist? The article anchors the NPF to the literatures on problem definition and implementation to advance two propositions about (a) how differences in the use of narrative elements can be suggestive of the degree of problem (in-)tractability; and (b) whether other elements of tractability, namely the presence of a valid causal theory, are associated with the usage of narrative strategies. I test the propositions by analyzing media commentaries surrounding the implementation of European decisions to tackle a tree-killing epidemic in Italy. The findings suggest that narratives can helpfully illustrate the intractability inherent in the policy debate. However, narratives can also develop independently of factors that the implementation literature understands as conducive to lowering intractability, namely knowledge accumulation. The NPF may represent a promising alternative to understand policy implementation processes.     

The Idea of a Category Mistake: From Ryle to Habermas,and Beyond

Summary

The term ‘category mistake’ began to turn up regularly in public discourse in the 1990s as a general term to describe a confusion between different fields of thought with serious practical consequences. But it began its career in philosophy, introduced by Gilbert Ryle in The Concept of Mind in 1949 to attack Cartesian dualism and assert a monistic solution to the so-called mind-body problem. This paper traces the stages by which it came into general usage, arguing that while by the later 1960s it had generally been rejected by philosophers, it was saved from disappearance by its migration into fields such as psychology and theology. From there, it moved into critical theory and then into international relations. Its entry into these latter areas first made plain its potential in political argument. Eventually, multiple meanings of the term came to coexist with one another, with the practical and rhetorical usage supplementing rather than replacing its original philosophical sense.     

中国"三农"问题的由来和发展

中国在改革开放过程中出现的特有的城乡关系和特有的城乡发展路径,产生了中国特有的"三农"问题的理论.这个理论的形成和运用,对于深入认识我国的基本国情、用以指导社会主义现代化建设的实践和对其他国家的问题进行研究,都是很有意义的.我国"三农"问题总的情况是农业问题已经基本上得到了解决,但农民问题和农村问题还很严重,主要根源还在于计划经济体制下所形成的一套农村、农业政策还没有得到根本转变.解决农民问题和农村问题,要继续深化农村体制改革,下决心改革户籍制度,改革现有的土地承包制度,改革现有的国民收入分配格局和乡镇现有的政权体制包括财政体制.     

皖南上海小三线职工的民生问题研究

上海小三线分布于皖南和浙西数百公里的山区,从1965年兴建到1988年移交结束,前后历时24年,人数最多时达到7.2万余人。小三线作为上海的后方基地和经济"飞地",自成一个社会体系。如何保障数万人的日常生活,解决他们面临的婚姻、户口、医疗、教育等问题,是小三线建设中的核心问题,也关涉到沪皖两地政府和职能部门的各项政策与协调。民生问题是研究小三线建设这一国家战略政策时不可忽略的重要方面。     

邓小平农民脱贫致富思想

邓小平农民脱贫致富思想 ,是以消灭贫穷论为基础和理论出发点展开的。它包括互相联系的三个组成部分 ,即农民脱贫论、农民致富论、农民扶贫论。邓小平的农民脱贫论揭示了农民脱贫的保障条件、农民脱贫的意义、农民脱贫的途径与方式 ;农民致富论阐明了农民致富性质、致富方法、致富道路、致富保证等思想 ;农民扶贫论包括扶贫的必要性和重要性、扶贫的基本思路及方法等方面     

战后日本对中国的直接投资

战后日本对华直接投资开始于1979年,呈现出沿海地区集中、投资目的单一、由制造加工转变为注重销售等特点,同时在其发展中也存在着一些问题。为此,中国应在充分认识日本海外直接投资规律的基础上,进一步开放市场,优化投资环境,增强包括日本投资者在内的外国投资者的投资信心,以便吸引更多的投资满足国有企业改革和西部开发对资金、技术和管理的迫切需要。     

关于生与死的探讨与沉思

生与死是一个古老而又沉重的话题。要正确深刻地探讨这个问题,可能条件还不很具备。本人只是想借重前贤的智慧与奇思妙想,沿着他们思维的足迹,作进一步的思考与探索,就灵魂有无的问题,有无因果报应的问题,气与灵的问题,乃至宇宙本体的问题等,表述一些个人的体会与想法。     

十世班禅与西藏和平解放及班禅问题的解决

班禅返藏问题,不仅是十世班禅自己的问题,也是和平解放西藏、实现国家统一和民族团结的一大核心问题。他首先争取中共中央对自己地位的承认,提出解决班禅问题的方案和意见;接着在和平解放西藏的谈判中使班禅问题的解决在协议中规定下来。十七条协议签订后,他又采取积极措施使书面规定得到具体实现,顺利返藏。班禅问题得以解决的根本原因是中国共产党维护国家统一和民族团结的决心与正确的方针、步骤,十世班禅也作出了积极的努力和贡献。     

考古学研究的问题来自哪里?

问题通常是研究的中心,而考古学研究的问题来自哪里却长期困扰着中国考古学研究者以及即将进入研究领域的学生,因此有必要梳理考古学研究问题的形式、内容、来源与背景关联。文章侧重指出考古学研究的问题来自于考古学"透物见人"多层次推理的过程,我们需要从外在与内在的关联之中来审视考古学所研究的问题,唯有如此,考古学研究的问题才可能丰富精彩。。     

Qualitative Methods for the Study of Policy Diffusion: Challenges and Available Solutions

This article deals with the question whether and how processes of policy diffusion can be examined with qualitative methods. More specifically, how can qualitative methods address the “twin challenge of interdependence,” namely the challenge to identify diffusion, on the one hand, and the challenge to discriminate between mechanisms of diffusion, on the other? I argue, first, that there are three distinct qualitative techniques that can be used, namely cross‐case analysis (often based on systematic case selection), within‐case process tracing, and counterfactual reasoning. I demonstrate how these techniques can be adapted to the study of policy diffusion. Second, a combination of these methods is the best practice, since they are largely complementary in terms of the twin challenge of diffusion. The discussion draws on numerous illustrations from recent qualitative policy diffusion studies. The article closes with some suggestions for further methodological development in the study of policy diffusion, including the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods.