Politics and policymaking : in search of simplicity / Ira Sharkansky.

Intro; Title Page; Copyright page; Contents; Preface; Chapter 1- On Simplicity, Politics, and Policymaking; The Well-Trod Paths: Simple Ways of Dealing with Conflict and Other Forms of Complexity; The Principle of Simplicity; Notes; Chapter 2- The Mysteries of Agenda-Setting, Policymaking, and Implementation; The Policymaking System; Figure 2.1 A Beginnerâ#x80;#x99;s Model of the Policymaking System; Figure 2.2 The Policymaking System Enhanced; What Affects the Policy Agenda?; Learning from the Exotic; Why Policies Are, or Are Not, Implemented as Policymakers Expect

Table 2.1 Elements Likely to Affect Policy ImplementationPersonal Foibles and Other Random Noise; The Problems of Ambiguityand Other Forms of Coping; Faith and Politics; What Is a Country?; Notes; Chapter 3- Organizations Designed Not to Be Governed; Public Organizations That Are Not Governmental; Who But a Person with Illusions Would Seek to Administer a Major University?; Notes; Chapter 4- Choosing Simple Solutions for the Problems of Politics and Policymaking; Political Parties; Incrementalism: If It Was Good Enough Yesterday, Itâ#x80;#x99;s Good Enough for Tomorrow; Slogans

Cope: Do Not Cross All the Tâ#x80;#x99;s and Dot All the Iâ#x80;#x99;sWhen Doing Nothing Is the Simplest, and Maybe the Best, Policy; Other Rules of Simplicity; Notes; Chapter 5- Intelligence, Cunning, and Wisdom in Politics and Policymaking; Learning When to Apply a Simple Rule; Other Knotty Problems of Public Policy; Simple Rules and Their Opposites; When Are Simplifications Worthwhile?; Notes; Bibliography; Index; About the Book

Social scientists have constructed elaborate theories involving policymakers as rational actors and purporting to predict and explain policy outcomes. In contrast, this provocative book paints a picture of policymakers who-coping with the uncertainty of constantly changing constraints-must simplify, taking shortcuts rather than surveying all of their options and pursuing carefully thought-out plans. Sharkansky draws on wide-ranging examples to illustrate the conditions that make simplification the necessary constituent of political life, as well as the various ways in which policymakers naviga.

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