Frameworks for Policy Analysis

This book constitutes both a new exploration of distinct, and sometimes radically different, models for analysis, and a reference for multiple methodologies that come under the umbrella term 'analysis'. In this clear and concise text, author Raul P. Lejano shows how, in order to bring relevance back to policy analysis, we must address policy situations as complex phenomena and employ multiple approaches in order to understand the essential elements of each policy case. Along with classic and recent models, Lejano introduces new concepts that deepen our analysis and aspire to what Geertz calls 'thick description'. This text, written for advanced courses in policy analysis, is an answer to the critical gap between the complexity and dimentionality of policy situations and the abstract and formal character of policy analysis, in general. It introduces the reader to dominant models of analysis, pointing out their limitations and their potential for transcending these limits. It also introduces new analytical approaches that help to merge text and context, increasing the dimensionality and authenticity of the analysis.