Synopses & Reviews
The Science of Stories: Applications of the Narrative Policy Framework in Policy Analysis is the first comprehensive collection of Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) studies, a new framework that empirically examines the role of policy narratives in the policy process. The core theme of NPF, and hence the book, is that policy narratives shape policy processes through influences on public opinion, coalitional behavior, and cultures and institutions. The original elements of this volume that set it apart from other policy texts are (1) empirical accounts of the power of stories at different levels of analysis within the policy process; (2) studies examining both domestic and international policy arenas; and (3) an assessment of this book written Christopher Weible and Edella Schlager, two prominent policy process scholars who situate the NPF in the larger policy process literature. The Science of Stories is a desired text for graduate and undergraduate policy courses.
Review
"Underpinning theories of the policy process is an understanding of individual actors aptly summarized by the term 'bounded rationality,' which emphasizes both goal-oriented action and cognitive and emotional constraints. The Science of Stories, which reviews and extends the Narrative Policy Framework, argues persuasively that narratives people tell themselves and others influence their decision-making. This is a fresh and impressive approach to understanding policy processes that fits within a broader attempt to ground policy sciences in cognitive research." - Bryan D. Jones, Director of the Policy Agendas Project at University of Texas at Austin
Review
"Combining insight from policy studies, political psychology, communication science, and literary theory, the contributors to this gem break new ground by exploring the central role of narratives and story-telling in public policy and democratic discourse. A very impressive piece of work, the book is a fine combination of theory-building supported by a careful blend of experimental, statistical, and qualitative techniques that links micro, meso, and macro analyses to an emerging framework of deductive social constructionism." - Nikolaos Zahariadis, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA"Underpinning theories of the policy process is an understanding of individual actors aptly summarized by the term 'bounded rationality,' which emphasizes both goal-oriented action and cognitive and emotional constraints. The Science of Stories, which reviews and extends the Narrative Policy Framework, argues persuasively that narratives people tell themselves and others influence their decision-making. This is a fresh and impressive approach to understanding policy processes that fits within a broader attempt to ground policy sciences in cognitive research." - Bryan D. Jones, Director of the Policy Agendas Project at University of Texas at Austin, USA
'The contributors to this volume do a first-rate job of setting out an illustration and defense of the empirical orientation to narrative analysis. The book will not settle the age-old debate between interpretivists and empiricists, but it certainly renews the discussion in provocatively interesting ways.' - Frank Fischer, Professor of Politics and Global Affairs, Rutgers University, USA
Synopsis
The study of narratives in a variety of disciplines has grown in recent years as a method of better explaining underlying concepts in their respective fields. Through the use of Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), political scientists can analyze the role narrative plays in political discourse.
About the Author
Michael D. Jones is an Assistant Professor at Oregon State's School of Public Policy. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science in 2010 from the University of Oklahoma and holds an MA and BS in Political Science, both granted from Idaho State University. His research focuses on the role and influence of narrative in public policy processes, outcomes, and science communication. His research has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Political Marketing, Political Psychology, Policy Studies Journal, Social Science Quarterly, and PS: Political Science and Politics.
Mark K. McBeth is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Idaho State University. His research specializes in public policy and public administration. His work has appeared most recently in Policy Studies Journal, Environmental Politics, Risk Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy, World Medical and Health Policy, Policy Sciences, Politics and Policy, and Policy and Internet. He is also a co-author of Public Policy Praxis: A Case Approach to Policy and Analysis (Pearson Longman, 2009, second edition).
Elizabeth A. Shanahan is an Associate Professor of political science and public administration at Montana State University. She earned her Doctor of Arts, Master of Public Administration, and Master of Counseling from Idaho State University and her Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College. Her research interests center on individual and organization decision making and the role of policy narratives in influencing policy outcomes. Her publications have appeared in journals such as Policy Studies Journal, Policy Sciences, Policy and Internet, Policy and Politics, and Society and Natural Resources.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface: The Portneuf School of Narrative; Mark K. McBeth
Acknowledgements
The Scientific Study of Policy Narratives in the Policy Process
1. Introducing the Narrative Policy Framework; Michael D. Jones, Mark K. McBeth and Elizabeth A. Shanahan
2. Research Design and the Narrative Policy Framework; Jonathan J. Pierce, Aaron Smith-Walter and Holly L. Peterson
Micro-Level NPF: Individuals and Policy Narratives
3. The Narrative Policy Framework and the Practitioner: Communicating Recycling Policy; Mark K. McBeth, Donna L. Lybecker and Maria Husmann
4. The Blame Game: Narrative Persuasiveness of the Intentional Causal Mechanism; Elizabeth A. Shanahan, Stephanie M. Adams, Michael D. Jones and Mark K. McBeth
Meso-Level NPF: Groups, Coalitions and Policy Narratives
5. The Strategic Use of Policy Narratives: Jaitapur and the Politics of Siting a Nuclear Power Plant in India; Kuhika Gupta, Joseph T. Ripberger and Savannah Collins
6. Narrating the 'Arab Spring': Where Expertise Meets Heuristics in Legislative Hearings; Tom O'Bryan, Claire A. Dunlop and Claudio M. Radaelli
7. Using the Narrative Policy Framework to Understand Stakeholder Strategy and Effectiveness: A Multi-Case Analysis; Deserai Anderson Crow and John Berggren
8. Coalitions are People: Policy Narratives and the Defeat of Ohio Senate Bill 5; Andrew R. Kear and Dominic D. Wells
9. Exploring the Policy Narratives and Politics of Hydraulic Fracturing in New York; Tanya Heikkila, Chris Weible and Jonathan Pierce
10. The Governance of Social Innovation: Connecting Meso and Macro Levels of Analysis; Steven Ney
Assessing the NPF
11. Narrative Policy Framework: Contributions, Limitations, and Recommendations; Christopher M. Weible and Edella Schlager
12. Denouement?; Elizabeth A. Shanahan, Mark K. McBeth and Michael D. Jones