Policy changes refer to the transformation of public policies to better align with societal values and demands. This can be a result of shifts in political ideology or triggered by significant events like economic crises or social movements that compel policymakers to revise existing policies. This process can be accelerated by changes in leadership, with new leaders prioritizing different issues or seeking to redefine the goals and mandate of government. Interest groups can also facilitate or obstruct policy change through advocacy and lobbying activities that support or oppose specific causes aligned with their interests.
Policy change occurs throughout the entire policy-making cycle, starting with agenda setting and ending with evaluation. This cyclical nature highlights the dynamic and adaptive nature of governance in a continuously changing world. It is important to understand the role that these cycles play in enabling or impeding policy changes, as well as to understand the implications of policy choices and their implementations.
For example, a company may decide to change its remote work policy during the COVID-19 pandemic from five days per week to three. This policy change demonstrates that a company is adjusting its business strategy to accommodate for the challenges of the current climate.
Another example is the implementation of price controls in 1946 after World War II, which lowered prices to manage inflation. The subsequent price surge demonstrated the complexities of unwinding interventionist policies and highlighted the need for careful and calibrated transitions between policy regimes. To study the interplay between these variables, we use historical process tracing and within-case analysis methods to investigate the causal linkages between networks and policy changes.