Introducing Public Policy

This new text by celebrated collaborators Jay Shafritz and Christopher Borick takes a unique doctrinal approach to introducing public policy, presenting the evolution and implementation of policies in terms of their underlying doctrines. While it is generally accepted that the doctrines of the political parties heavily influence the policies they advocate, Introducing Public Policy uses this overall context to shape and define its presentation of the policymaking process. Within this doctrinal framework, the text explores the development of public policy from its ideological roots to its dynamic application today, maintaining a lively, often humorous tone and interdisciplinary story-telling approach which will engage and edify students and professors alike. Organized into two sections, Part I, The Framework of Public Policy, emphasizes how people from philosophers to politicians have been thinking about, writing on, and analyzing public policy processes from ancient times to the present. Part II, Public Policy Areas, highlights seven key policy areas and provides students with the skills to analyze these and other policy areas through a doctrinal lens.