Journal on Policy & Complex Systems Volume 3, Issue 1, Spring 2017 | Page 79

A Complex Adaptive Systems Analysis of Shaka Zulu and the Mfecane
political decision-making and governmental power . By contrast , political revolutionary movements seek a radical overhaul either through violent or non-violent means of an entire political and economic regime . One example of this was the Cuban revolution of 1959 that brought Fidel Castro to power and transformed Cuba into a Marxist-Leninist state .
State Capacity
State capacity in the context of democratic policy is the ability of governmental institutions to formulate , enact , implement , and steer public policies that enhance or not formal , informal , and action-oriented policies related to democratic procedure , process , legal , requirements , and substantive policies . This provides policy outputs and outcomes that are more or less democratic . Within the context of steering public policies toward democratic or not policy outputs and outcomes , public policymaking is often characterized by contrasting , nuanced and complex systemic factors .
In summary , key factors not covered currently by the conglomerated US policy model relate to democracy , including inequality and state capacity to steer a democratic course , as well as complex policy systems behaviour , means the current conglomerated U . S . policy model is incomplete . The next section will update the conglomerated US policy model to incorporate democratization and complex system behaviour resulting in a comparative policy model .
Overview of Complex Policymaking
Complexity theory provides a basis and overarching foundation to explain how democratic public policies are formulated and implemented including due to social movements or revolutionary movements . In relation to complexity theory , third wave theories such as multiple streams , advocacy coalition framework , and policy diffusion theories all describe or predict features of complex system behavior ( Givel , 2015 ). On the other hand , other third wave theories such as punctuated equilibrium theory and institutional rational choice are primarily linear in orientation ( Givel , 2015 ).
Nature of Policymaking
The general nature of complex public policymaking linked to varying democratic policy outputs and outcomes are predicated on self-organization by governmental policy institutions including executive , judicial , and legislative functions . Once policies are formulated and then enacted policies are often implemented by public agencies . Additionally , public policymaking occurs through complex and dynamic interactions of organized policy system parts . For example , in health policy it is normal to evaluate smaller policy parts such as health care access or affordability .
Policy processes and system selforganization also creates positive and negative feedback loops . When societal policies become less than optimal for a particular group , class , individuals or elites then a positive feedback loop can occur due to an effort to change the policy in a direction that is beneficial to a particular party . A negative feedback loop can occur because of one or more policy institutions or classes , elites , groups , or individuals are blocking policy change .
Context of Policy Process
Unlike what is postulated in linear and mechanical policy models that policymaking
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