Complex System Behavior In Democratic Policy Theory
program performance in meeting the public policy goals of a program . Finally , similar to Lasswell ’ s terminating phase , the final phase is the program meeting policy goals or creating policy change ( Anderson , 1975 ; Deleon , 1999 ; Jones , 1970 ; Jones , 1977 ; May & Wildavsky , 1978 ).
While Lasswell ’ s policy science for democracy focuses on the function and decision making process of elite policy analysts shaping policy toward democracy and dignity , the second wave of US policy theory downplayed this in lieu of a liberal interest group model of policy making and politics . In Lasswell ’ s model , elite policy analysts promoting democracy , sometimes through propaganda , shaped democracy . The Second Wave model was based on specialized participation by public agencies , executive branch , legislative branch and particularly interest groups ( Anderson , 1975 ; Jones , 1977 ).
In this model of interest group , pluralism groups compete regarding various public policies . Those groups with greater political access to public decision makers and have the organizational resources such as funding to employ lobbyists , scientific experts , and so on tend to be those that have a considerable bias in meeting their policy agendas in the policy process . E . E . Schattschneider ( 1960 ) referred to this policy advantage as a mobilization of bias . More specifically , the mobilization of bias , according to Schattschneider include a hegemony of policy values and institutional processes that benefit certain groups at the expense of other groups in the policy process ( Schattschneider , 1960 ).
With that , the policy sciences for democracy linear policy cycle model of Lasswell shifted and changed . No longer was it an elite group of political scientists and policy analysts shaping democracy for the dignity of humans . The Second Wave was grounded in liberal interest group pluralism as the driving explanation of how power and influence occurs in the US policymaking process . A basic premise of interest group liberalism is that interest groups provide robust competition and policy compromise on the policy system and are a crucial link between government and the people the groups ’ represent . That is not to say that elements of Lasswell ’ s policy elite driving public policy completely
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