Political Science

Within a community, there are issues that affect the majority of the members.  When an effort is made to have the community come to a consensus in order to influence a particular strategy, this can be viewed as a public strategy.  Generally a public policy will be any cause of action that is arrived at after consultation with all stakeholders and an agreement arrived at, after a common ground is arrived at among the players.

This paper will look at factors that influence public policy with a view to identifying how they inter-marry.  It will look at the influences wielded by different players on public policy procedures and how it can be countered or natured.

Discussion
Given that a public policy is a particular course of action arrived at as a result of discussion and horse trading especially in the political realm that ensures all parties have a stake in the policy.  Ultimately each side in a discussion must be able to have a stake in order to justify the process.

In public policy debates, there are no wrong or right answers nor are there permanent positions.  In public policy formulation, everything is fair game if progress is to be achieved.  There will never be a final solution or problem.  It is as dynamic as the participants and stakeholders being affected by the policy.

The legislature itself is the biggest shaper of public policy.  Due to the fact that it is a body of elected representatives of the people, through their discussions and the decisions made, they are continuously creating or amending public policy.  They are the foremost authority in the generation of public policy.  By their nature of their work, they are supposed to represent their local constituents at the national level and make sure the views of their constituents are at all times considered in all decision making.
The justice system on its part ensures the all public policies are actually good for the public.  These policies cannot be against the constitution of a country.  It is their duty to make sure that the rule of law is followed by ensuring that all decisions made are within the boundaries of what is agreeable by the majority.  They also aid in enforcing public policies.  When a person is found contravening a public policy, they are taken to court and it thus becomes the duty of the justice system to right wrongs on behalf of the public.  The enforcement of public policy is done in collaboration with the executive arm of government.

They also do affect public policy through the judgment delivered on issues brought before them for arbitration and judgment.  Working within the strict confines of existing laws, the executive can influence debate and by extension, change a public policy by either coming down hard or soft while delivering judgment.  Since they can borrow from precedents set in other countriesstates that have similar laws, developments in law can be brought in through rulings delivered which will in turn lead to debate as a result.

For an issue to qualify as a public issue it must be a human action that impacts another party as to warrant the intervention of the government.  It could concern health, justice, environment or even taxation.  Any issue as long as it is weighty is worth discussing and there are no issues that can not be addressed.  When this happens, then the process of finding a common ground that will be agreeable to all parties is put into action.  An issue is first picked by a member of a legislative body as a complaint by the public.  The other way for an issue to be considered for the policy making process is for the member to have a particular interest as concerns an issue and decide to seek that correction of an injustice heshe feels is being perpetuated.

Before an issue is introduced in the legislative body, the member sponsoring the issue will normally weigh the interest it can generate within fellow members.  This is done in order to find out what the reception will be like, whether the issue has any chance of being addressed in a manner agreeable to the member and if not what the obstacles that await the issue are.  The member will want to weigh the opinions in order to determine if it is the right time to bring it up.  No member wants to spend their energy on an issue that clearly is a non starter.

Once the member is sure of the level of support or none thereof, they then engage on popularizing the policy in order to win over as many supporters as possible.  This could be done in different ways.  In some instances it could be arm twisting when one is in a position of power or influence.

The member will also endeavor to hold public education and discussion with a view to ensuring the policy will not only be embraced by the public but that it actually will have goodwill ambassadors and lobbyists who will champion it through out the process from introduction in the legislature to its enactment.

When the legislature finally votes to adopt a policy and recommends it to the president to be signed into law, its work of formulation is finished.  It now falls on the executive and the judiciary to implement the policy.  These two arms of government have to work in tandem since each has its own unique characteristics and mandate which cannot individually achieve policy implementation.

Given the level and the scope of the public policy under consideration, most policies have their origins in the legislature.  This is the body that has constitutional mandate to make policies for the public.  Once the policy has been made it is then passed on to the executive and the judiciary for implementation and enforcement.  The legislature will have made the threadbare bureaucracies necessary to the implementation of the policy.

It is within these structures that the executive will have to work on in order to ensure implementation.  Where the bureaucracies do not exist then they would have to be created and empowered.  In implantation of public policy matter, decisions are made in a rule following manner.

Depending on how a policy will impact an individual, they will either have a strong interest or a passing interest.  When a policy stands to affect an individual in a negative way, the interest and ferocity to oppose it will be great and the same is true for the reverse.  Interest groups as the name suggests have only the well being of the people they represent at the top of their agenda.  Any policy that they perceive to have a positive or negative bearing on their common interest is either supported or opposed vehemently.

In order to have policies friendly to them and depending on the financial muscle they have, they will use a variety of strategies to influence favorable outcomes.  Interest groups are known to sponsor workshops for the legislature in the name of educating them on the intricacies of a policy under consideration.  They then have experts present who push for their point of view and the opposing voices paraded are intentionally chosen not to be loud enough.

In order to have support of particular legislators they deem pivotal to passing of a friendly policy, they are known to contribute to causes close to the legislators heart and expect quid pro quo when the policy comes up for voting.  In some cases there has been actual exchange of cash in lieu of support of a policy.

The media is the best avenue to disseminate views about a policy be they pro or against.  Depending on the value a media house will attach to a policy, they can generate debate by featuring the conflict from which the policy is being drafted and the possible outcomes that are being desired.  They also offer a forum for the sponsors of the policy to communicate with a large audience at once and sell their proposal.  When used effectively, the media can make differing members of a legislature take solid positions as a result of debate generated from their electors.

The media can out of its own assessment create debate which could result in the making of a public policy by highlighting on conflicts in the society.  The media often is supposed to act as the voice of the voiceless by practicing impartiality and strictly pursuing the policy of informing the public.  Unfortunately, in some instances depending on the inclinations of the management or owners of a particular media outlet, bias can be present.  This is done with the express view of swaying public view towards a particular view point.

Political parties especially in democratic countries have a very strong influence on public policy matters.  They can be used as means to rally support for a particular policy.  Since members of a political party already have a common ground, a member proposing a policy, once it has been supported by the party hierarchy is assured of party members for support.  The member only has to work on the opposing party member in order to have the policy gain nonpartisanship.  This is a sure way of increasing acceptance when a policy is seen as non partisan.

Political parties derive their mandate from their manifestos.  A party for whom environmental matters are central will trim its identity so that it will not be seen to be supporting a policy that seeks to degrade the environment.  They will however put all their energy on issues that further the environmental agenda.  Depending on the underlying party beliefs, ideology driven political parties can always be relied upon to raise and support public policy issues in line with their fundamental beliefs.

Conclusion
Depending on an individuals perceived impact of the policy on their life, so will the level of interest on a particular policy be determined.  If a policy affects persons with a particular interest, it is expected they will come together to support or fight the policy.

The media on its part depending on how it is applied by interested parties can play a pivotal role in shaping public perception regarding a particular policy.  Since all members are sponsored to the legislature by a political party, especially for those serving the very first term, it will hold a strong influence on them.  It will count on them to sponsor and support policies the party deems to beneficial to its long term strategy.