European Policy Analysis
to understand the creation of the ECDC and more generally how the MSA can work when , instead of an entrepreneur , there is a bricoleur .
The Bricoleur inside the MSA
The bricoleur is a type of agent that is hybrid in the sense that she is active in both the problem and the policy stream . I develop below how the foundations of the MSA , contingency , and ambiguity are compatible with this type of agency .
Rüb ( 2016 , 56 ) posits that two phenomena are contingent in the MSA : the political entrepreneur and the window of opportunity . This paper ought to add a third phenomenon , the bricoleur . Contingency is the assumption that everything that is could be different ; I relate bricolage as background contingency ( Rüb 2016 ) which predicates that agency is achieved in a context laced with coincidences and surprises . The bricoleur acts by means of events , but this explains only partially her agency ; she makes the choice to focus on a problem and , therefore , is a contingent element following events .
The bricoleur borrows from the problem broker who promotes a particular problem , or “ define ( s ) conditions as problems ” ( Knaggård 2015 , 452 ). The bricoleur thus participates actively in opening a problem window , which in an ambiguous context “ create ( s ) meaning for the policymakers ” ( Zahariadis 2008 , 16 ). However , unlike the problem broker , the bricoleur ’ s agency is not only a matter of creating meaning in the problem stream : she finds the imperative for policy change and consequentially engages on a search for solutions .
The bricoleur is not attached to one solution in particular , rather her attention is on the resolution of the problem and the means are secondary . This means that unlike the policy entrepreneur , the bricoleur does not look for a way of maintaining her needs and interests but rather defines her own role as one who takes responsibility for solving the problem . The bricoleur is the problemsolving driven agent that emerges to take responsibility for finding a solution .
I rely on the concept of consequential search for fit and problem windows to define bricolage as the process of finding a solution to a problem . The bricoleur is established as one who frames the problem and actively participates in opening a problem window . Zahariadis describes the consequences of a problem window as follows : “ a problem window triggers a search with a problem already in mind , however vaguely it may be defined . […] Consequently , the process begins with a search for clues about appropriate solutions to an already existing problem ” ( Zahariadis 2003 , 73 ). The search for an “ appropriate ” solution that “ fits ” is a theme that has been understudied in the MSA literature ; nevertheless , Ackrill and Kay ( 2011 ) have developed a model of coupling that answers some of the interrogations raised by the consequential search for fit . However , this paper will suggest a departure from the direction taken by Ackrill and Kay .
Ackrill and Kay posit that changes in the political or problem streams may signal to policymakers to select from known proposals ( Ackrill and Kay 2011 , 77 ) and suggest that both selling an idea and selecting an idea are entrepreneurial .
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