This chapter outlines the process of developing and implementing policy in the security sector. It discusses 7 key issues: 1) importance of human and institutional capacity, 2) policy communication and debate, 3) policy analysis, 4) factors influencing major policy reviews, 5) policy development, 6) implementation, and 7) oversight. It explains why policy is important for providing guidelines, accountability, and predictability. The politics of policy processes are also examined, emphasizing the importance of governance, transparency, human rights, and professional autonomy of security forces. The context of policy development during periods of change or stability is discussed.
How are decisions on public policy made?
What are the key stages in the policy process, and what is their significance?
What are the functions of bureaucracies?
How are bureaucracies organized? How should they be organized?
Why are bureaucrats so powerful?
How, and how successfully, are bureaucracies controlled?
In a sense, policy is the aspect of politics that concerns most people. In crude terms, policy consists of the 'outputs' of the political process. It reflects the impact of government on society; that is, its ability to make things better or make things worse. Indeed, since the 1960s and 1970s a distinctive area of study has developed: policy analysis. This sets out to examine how policy is initiated, formulated and implemented, and how the policy process can be improved. At a deeper level, policy analysis reflects on how and why decisions are made, the policy process being, in effect, a linked series of decisions, or bundles of decisions. Particular debate nevertheless surrounds the extent to which these decisions are rationally-based. However, studying the policy process often means, in practice, studying the bureaucracy, the massed ranks of civil servants and public officials who are charged with the execution of public policy. As government has grown and the breadth of its responsibilities has expanded, bureaucracies have come to play an increasingly important role in political life. No longer can civil servants be dismissed as mere administrators or policy implementers; instead, they may dominate the policy process, and even, sometimes, run their countries. A reality of 'rule by the officials' may thus lie behind the façade of representation and democratic accountability. The control of bureaucratic power is therefore one of the most pressing problems in modern politics, and one that no political system has found easy to solve. Concern about how bureaucracies are organized has also become more acute as the image of bureaucratic efficiency and rationality has been challenged by critics who allege that civil servants are motivated primarily by career self-interest. This charge has led to radical attempts to restructure the administrative state.
Public policy is made through a series of linked decisions. Decisions can be explained in terms of the goal-directed behaviour of rational actors, incremental judgements made in the light of changing circumstances, the bureaucratic or organizational factors that shape the decision-making process, and the beliefs and values held by decision-makers.
Good governance is the principle used in Management of government organizations as a means to improve the quality of development in the region. Good governance means a participatory form of governance that operates in a responsible, accountable and transparent manner, based on the principles of efficiency, legality and consensus to advance the rights of individual citizens and the public interest. Good governance means ensuring fairness, empowerment, employment and efficient service delivery. This research aims to Analysis of good governance and its pillars. Supriya Kumari "Good Governance and Its Pillars" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-6 , October 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd47535.pdf Paper URL : https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/political-science/47535/good-governance-and-its-pillars/supriya-kumari
Political Transitions After a Peace Agreement: Opportunities for the BangsamoroIAGorgph
Presented by FASTRAC International Advisor Sam Chittick at the Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Roundtable Discussion Series at the Senate of the Philippines on Aug. 17, 2015.
The Institute for Autonomy and Governance is organizing the discussions in partnership with the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO), Local Government Development Foundation (LOGODEF) and the Senate-Muslim Advocates for Peace and Progress.
OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIA'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY; 2011 - 2015 Yagana Bintube (MNIM)
A STUDY ON THE OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIA'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY; 2011 - 2015 BEING A RESEARCH PROJECT IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER IN SCIENCE DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA, NIGERIA.
THE WORK DISSECTS THE OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS OF THE 7TH SESSION AND EVALUATES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OVERSIGHT TOOL IN DELIVERY GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE NIGERIA'S FOURTH REPUBLIC DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION. IT LOOKS FURTHER TO HIGHLIGHT THE CHALLENGES, PROFFER DEEP ROOTED RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROJECT THE FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE OVERSIGHT TOOL IN ACHIEVING DEMOCRATIC SUCCESS, RESPONSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA.
Political Violence and the Sustenance of Democracy In Nigeriaiosrjce
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal edited by International Organization of Scientific Research (IOSR).The Journal provides a common forum where all aspects of humanities and social sciences are presented. IOSR-JHSS publishes original papers, review papers, conceptual framework, analytical and simulation models, case studies, empirical research, technical notes etc.
How are decisions on public policy made?
What are the key stages in the policy process, and what is their significance?
What are the functions of bureaucracies?
How are bureaucracies organized? How should they be organized?
Why are bureaucrats so powerful?
How, and how successfully, are bureaucracies controlled?
In a sense, policy is the aspect of politics that concerns most people. In crude terms, policy consists of the 'outputs' of the political process. It reflects the impact of government on society; that is, its ability to make things better or make things worse. Indeed, since the 1960s and 1970s a distinctive area of study has developed: policy analysis. This sets out to examine how policy is initiated, formulated and implemented, and how the policy process can be improved. At a deeper level, policy analysis reflects on how and why decisions are made, the policy process being, in effect, a linked series of decisions, or bundles of decisions. Particular debate nevertheless surrounds the extent to which these decisions are rationally-based. However, studying the policy process often means, in practice, studying the bureaucracy, the massed ranks of civil servants and public officials who are charged with the execution of public policy. As government has grown and the breadth of its responsibilities has expanded, bureaucracies have come to play an increasingly important role in political life. No longer can civil servants be dismissed as mere administrators or policy implementers; instead, they may dominate the policy process, and even, sometimes, run their countries. A reality of 'rule by the officials' may thus lie behind the façade of representation and democratic accountability. The control of bureaucratic power is therefore one of the most pressing problems in modern politics, and one that no political system has found easy to solve. Concern about how bureaucracies are organized has also become more acute as the image of bureaucratic efficiency and rationality has been challenged by critics who allege that civil servants are motivated primarily by career self-interest. This charge has led to radical attempts to restructure the administrative state.
Public policy is made through a series of linked decisions. Decisions can be explained in terms of the goal-directed behaviour of rational actors, incremental judgements made in the light of changing circumstances, the bureaucratic or organizational factors that shape the decision-making process, and the beliefs and values held by decision-makers.
Good governance is the principle used in Management of government organizations as a means to improve the quality of development in the region. Good governance means a participatory form of governance that operates in a responsible, accountable and transparent manner, based on the principles of efficiency, legality and consensus to advance the rights of individual citizens and the public interest. Good governance means ensuring fairness, empowerment, employment and efficient service delivery. This research aims to Analysis of good governance and its pillars. Supriya Kumari "Good Governance and Its Pillars" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-6 , October 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd47535.pdf Paper URL : https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/political-science/47535/good-governance-and-its-pillars/supriya-kumari
Political Transitions After a Peace Agreement: Opportunities for the BangsamoroIAGorgph
Presented by FASTRAC International Advisor Sam Chittick at the Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Roundtable Discussion Series at the Senate of the Philippines on Aug. 17, 2015.
The Institute for Autonomy and Governance is organizing the discussions in partnership with the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO), Local Government Development Foundation (LOGODEF) and the Senate-Muslim Advocates for Peace and Progress.
OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIA'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY; 2011 - 2015 Yagana Bintube (MNIM)
A STUDY ON THE OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIA'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY; 2011 - 2015 BEING A RESEARCH PROJECT IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER IN SCIENCE DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA, NIGERIA.
THE WORK DISSECTS THE OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS OF THE 7TH SESSION AND EVALUATES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OVERSIGHT TOOL IN DELIVERY GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE NIGERIA'S FOURTH REPUBLIC DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION. IT LOOKS FURTHER TO HIGHLIGHT THE CHALLENGES, PROFFER DEEP ROOTED RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROJECT THE FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE OVERSIGHT TOOL IN ACHIEVING DEMOCRATIC SUCCESS, RESPONSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA.
Political Violence and the Sustenance of Democracy In Nigeriaiosrjce
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal edited by International Organization of Scientific Research (IOSR).The Journal provides a common forum where all aspects of humanities and social sciences are presented. IOSR-JHSS publishes original papers, review papers, conceptual framework, analytical and simulation models, case studies, empirical research, technical notes etc.
Understanding Bureaucracy in Public AdministrationHAFIZUDIN YAHAYA
Basic noted for you to understand the concept and practice of bureaucracy in government administration. what is the factors that lead to failure of bureaucracy and how to enhance the better management in public policy.
A presentation given by Karen Hill, Head of SIGMA (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management) at a workshop on efficiency and effectiveness in public administration amongst the Balkan countries, held in Ankara 24 and 25 April. Participants from the Prime Ministries of five countries Turkey, Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina shared their experience and debated issues such as how to reduce administrative burdens on citizens and business.
Understanding Bureaucracy in Public AdministrationHAFIZUDIN YAHAYA
Basic noted for you to understand the concept and practice of bureaucracy in government administration. what is the factors that lead to failure of bureaucracy and how to enhance the better management in public policy.
A presentation given by Karen Hill, Head of SIGMA (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management) at a workshop on efficiency and effectiveness in public administration amongst the Balkan countries, held in Ankara 24 and 25 April. Participants from the Prime Ministries of five countries Turkey, Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina shared their experience and debated issues such as how to reduce administrative burdens on citizens and business.
Public Policy Formulation and Management by Avit TheophilAvith Theophil
Making public policy is an important act. It flows from a sacred public trust bestowed on a select few individuals. Public policy decisions affect thousands, even millions of people. However, it seems that many, if not most, public officials lack the critical thinking skills to exercise good public policy decision making.
OECD Forum on Financing Democracy and Averting Policy Capture - AgendaOECD Governance
Forum to investigate the influence of money on public policies and to find ways of preventing policy capture by narrow private interests. http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/financing-democracy-and-averting-policy-capture-forum-2014.htm
With the help of this powerpoint presentation, at the Workshop on Governance Assessment Methods and Applications of Governance Data in Policy-Making (June 2009), Ken Mease argued that governance assessments can be 1) a reporting tool that can track and communicate progress towards goals and/or outcomes; 2) a policy tool that can guide evidence-based planning and action to address issues identified as important by citizens and in existing political commitments, and finally 3) a tool that can strengthen democracy by engaging stakeholders through informed discussions.
Political (In)Stability and Public Policy Transplantation: a Macedonian Casejpsjournal1
In recent years, a set of new post-empiricist advances to public policy, drawing on discursive analyses and
participatory, deliberative practices, have come to challenge the leading technocratic, empiricist models in
policy analyses. According to Pessali, the transplantation of public policies is an influential instrument in
the hands of economic development – important as it may be, transplantation may not be inevitably
successful, therefore not always looked for. There are good economic reasons to consider the practice of
grafting in public policy transplants, i.e., consideration for the specific cities of existing local institutions
and how they may interact with a set of predominant policy requirements and guidelines. By taking into
account Pessali's alternative method that institutionalizes some sort of cooperation between policy makers
and stakeholders, in contrast with some other common variants of the policy transplantation method, we
discuss an architecture for public policy inputs in a country context, which may help to avoid some of the
underlying risks of standard transplantation architectures. The article concludes that the “transplantation
metaphor” can be a powerful tool in organizing our thoughts and framing our decisions, which can lead to
better use of it for the purposes of public policy design in societies only in cases of political stability.
Public Policy and Factors Influencing Public Policyinventionjournals
Within the broader content of the political system, public policy comprising several elements aiming at achieving certain interests, goals and objectives is a skilful, comprehensive, enforceable, binding, legitimate, authoritative, deliberate and purposeful framework of and for interaction within which a multiplicity of policy decisions by political office – bearers can be made and various courses of action can be put into operation by public officials in order to realize the predetermined governmental aims and objectives as economically, efficiently and effectively. However, policy is not static as it should be reformulated and adapted continually on the basis of experience, research in the relative field of operation, and changing circumstances and needs; and these are always factors which serve to change the nature and the extent of the activities of public institution. All these aspects constitute the subject – matter of this article.
Similar to Handbook on security sector governance.3 (20)
Productivity for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and EmploymentKayode Fayemi
Being the Keynote Address by
H.E. Dr. Kayode Fayemi, CON
Minister of Mines and Steel Development
Federal Republic of Nigeria
at the Annual Lecture of the
16th National Productivity Day organized by
THE NATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE
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Presented by
Dr. ‘Kayode Fayemi, CON
Minister of Solid Minerals Development
at the Inaugural Media Briefing of the Ministry
on Monday, December 21, 2015
Promoting Stewardship in Public ServiceKayode Fayemi
By
J. ’Kayode FAYEMI, PhD., CON
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria
at the
Excellence in Leadership Conference 2015
Daystar Christian Centre, Oregun, Lagos
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
LEADERSHIP FACTORS AND GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: KEY TO NATIONAL GROWTH AND ...Kayode Fayemi
Paper by His Excellency
J. ’Kayode FAYEMI
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at the 2015 Edition of the
Akintola Williams Distinguished Lecture Series
Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, Nigeria
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Intellectuals In Politics And Governance In Africa: The Lessons And Legacies ...Kayode Fayemi
the text of the paper by His Excellency
Dr. John Kayode Fayemi
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria
At the 3rd Annual John Atta Mills Memorial Lecture
Accra, Ghana
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
19 Ekiti State House of Assembly Members Letter Kayode Fayemi
19 APC members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly writes the Minister of Finance, Body of Attorney generals and Minister of Works denouncing the appointment of Commissioner for works, Commissioner for finance and Commissioner for justice in the state.
As the last child in the Fayemi household, my arrival was heralded with song and dance. Although my birth elicited genuine excitement on the part of my siblings, it was for my mother a cautious welcome. My mother’s caution was understandable having lost a boy and two girls in quick succession before my arrival.
27052024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
‘वोटर्स विल मस्ट प्रीवेल’ (मतदाताओं को जीतना होगा) अभियान द्वारा जारी हेल्पलाइन नंबर, 4 जून को सुबह 7 बजे से दोपहर 12 बजे तक मतगणना प्रक्रिया में कहीं भी किसी भी तरह के उल्लंघन की रिपोर्ट करने के लिए खुला रहेगा।
role of women and girls in various terror groupssadiakorobi2
Women have three distinct types of involvement: direct involvement in terrorist acts; enabling of others to commit such acts; and facilitating the disengagement of others from violent or extremist groups.
In a May 9, 2024 paper, Juri Opitz from the University of Zurich, along with Shira Wein and Nathan Schneider form Georgetown University, discussed the importance of linguistic expertise in natural language processing (NLP) in an era dominated by large language models (LLMs).
The authors explained that while machine translation (MT) previously relied heavily on linguists, the landscape has shifted. “Linguistics is no longer front and center in the way we build NLP systems,” they said. With the emergence of LLMs, which can generate fluent text without the need for specialized modules to handle grammar or semantic coherence, the need for linguistic expertise in NLP is being questioned.
हम आग्रह करते हैं कि जो भी सत्ता में आए, वह संविधान का पालन करे, उसकी रक्षा करे और उसे बनाए रखे।" प्रस्ताव में कुल तीन प्रमुख हस्तक्षेप और उनके तंत्र भी प्रस्तुत किए गए। पहला हस्तक्षेप स्वतंत्र मीडिया को प्रोत्साहित करके, वास्तविकता पर आधारित काउंटर नैरेटिव का निर्माण करके और सत्तारूढ़ सरकार द्वारा नियोजित मनोवैज्ञानिक हेरफेर की रणनीति का मुकाबला करके लोगों द्वारा निर्धारित कथा को बनाए रखना और उस पर कार्यकरना था।
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Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
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#First_India_NewsPaper
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Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
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31052024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
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Future Of Fintech In India | Evolution Of Fintech In India
Handbook on security sector governance.3
1. CHAPTER 4
POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION,
AIM
This chapter outlines the process of formulating and implementing policy. Section 4.1
explains why policy is important. Section 4.2 examines the political dimensions of the
policy process. Section 4.3 offers some observations on the context in which policies
are developed and implemented. Section 4.4 discusses the policy management
process and describes its application in the security sector. It focuses on seven key
issues: 1) the importance of human and institutional capacity; 2) policy communication,
dialogue, and debate; 3) policy analysis; 4) factors influencing the decision to conduct a
major policy review; 5) policy development; 6) policy implementation; and 7) oversight.
4.1 WHY POLICY IS IMPORTANT
Policy in any sector is important for four inter-related reasons:
It provides a clear series of guidelines within which strategies can be framed and
activities can take place.
It thus helps discipline government behaviour by minimizing ad hoc and costly
decision-making processes and striving for the optimal use of resources in pursuit of
specific objectives.
It provides people with a series of normative and practical guidelines via which
government can be assessed and held accountable for its actions.
It confers predictability on the activities of government.
4.2 THE POLITICS OF THE POLICY PROCESSES
The policy process is often equated with the formal institutional arrangements
that are its output – legislation, policy documents, improved organizational
management, and the like. In reality, the policy process is part of a complex political
process that reflects institutional relationships that are inherently political, subjective and
psychological. Where the security forces have become deeply embedded in the
political system and economy, simply writing new laws or undertaking narrow
institutional reforms will have only a limited effect on progress toward democratic civil
control of the security sector. It is therefore important to focus on changing the entire
environment within which the security sector operates.
56
2. African experience with reforming the security sector at the end of the 20th
century and beginning of the 21st century underscores the importance of improved
governance, greater transparency, respect for rules-based systems, and promotion and
protection of human rights. Several areas are particularly relevant in this regard:
Addressing the constitutional dimensions of civil democratic control.
Developing civilian expertise in security issues, among politicians, government civil
servants, and civil society.
Developing participatory and collective methods of managing the security sector that
are consistent with African culture and participatory democracy.
Creating opportunities for networking and dialogue between members of the security
forces and civilians.
Agreeing the division of labour among the different security forces.
Ensuring professional autonomy of the security forces (Box 4-1).
Any effort to enhance the policy process in the security sector in Africa must be
based on: 1) accountability to the people; 2) participation, facilitated by an accessible
process and a culture of inclusivity; 3) government [?] legitimacy; 4) transparency; 5)
efficiency; and 6) ownership. To this end, national policy processes must ensure that:
The process itself is understood to be as important as the outcome of the process.
Box 4-1. Why Professional Autonomy of the Police Service Matters
“Political manipulation of the police subverts the rule of law and undermines the professionalism of
officers, deterring the best recruits and reducing police capacity to combat crime effectively…. The
South African police force was previously an intrinsic part of the state apparatus of repression, with
officers involved in widespread and systematic human rights violations.
“Now, other governments across the SADC region are using tactics resembling those of the
apartheid era, in politically misusing the police to suppress public meetings, demonstrations or
campaigning by opposition parties and government critics. In the majority of countries in the region,
police harass, disrupt or discourage the activities of opposition leaders, trade union officials, youth
activists, human rights monitors and journalists. This political misuse of the police violates
international human rights guarantees and standards for policing. Evidence of such misuse can be
seen in statements of political allegiance made by police officials and in reprisals against officers
who carry out their duties in a fair and impartial manner.
“Several international human rights standards oblige law enforcement officials to carry out their
duties fairly and impartially. …[I]nternational standards and treaties entitle everyone to the equal
protection of the law, without discrimination. [For example, the] UN International Code of Conduct
for Public Officials states that public officials have a duty to act in the public interest and that:
‘Therefore, the ultimate loyalty of public officials shall be to the public interests of their country as
expressed through the democratic institutions of government.’ The public interest lies in policing
being conducted fairly and impartially, without regard to political affiliation.”
Source: Amnesty International, Policing to protect human rights: A survey of police practice in
countries of the Southern African Development Community, 1997-2002, London, 2002, pp. 13-14.
See also International Code of Conduct for Public Officials (Article 1),
(www.un.org/documents/ga/res/51/a51r059), adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 51/59 of
12 December 1996.
57
3. The management and administration of the process is credible and respected.
Conflicting aims and views are mediated in a manner that enriches the policy debate
and does not jeopardize its progress. This may necessitate conflict resolution and
consensus building among key stakeholders.
To promote transparency, participation, and credibility, all relevant stakeholders
have access to necessary information.
The process is open to the diverse views existing in society. Dissenting views are
valued as enriching the policy debate and as a means of ensuring that the opinions
of various sectors of society are represented.
Ordinary people are empowered to make effective contributions to policy
development and implementation by giving them the necessary tools to participate.
The entire process is accessible to ordinary citizens: physical proximity, the
languages used, the absence of jargon and overly sophisticated language, the
provision of relevant information on the aims and objectives of the process in a
timely manner.
Priority is given to public education during policy development and implementation in
order to assist the public in understanding their rights and obligations. Efforts are
made to use appropriate media and other methods to reach out especially to the
disadvantaged and marginalized.
The process is continuously reviewed and evaluated to confirm that operating
principles and minimum standards are adhered to.
All actions violating the values enshrined in the output of the process should be
unequivocally rejected.
Universally accepted rights must be reflected in all processes.
4.3 THE POLICY CONTEXT
Policy is developed and implemented in two different types of contexts: 1)
periods of significant change – either in economic and political systems or in the
relevant institution itself and 2) periods where systems are essentially stable. Both of
these situations have a different bearing on the possible outcomes of a policy process,
and it is important to consider the following factors when engaging in a process of
transformation:
Nature of change. A decision to undertake major policy changes is more easily
made during a periods of significant change. In periods of relative system stability,
changes tend to be slower and more incremental. At the same time, it may be
easier to implement major changes under conditions of greater system stability.
The stakes. During period of change, the political and institutional stakes are
high. In the security sector, failure to deal with the need for significant change has
led to many governments being overthrown. In times of system stability, the stakes
tend to appear moderate.
58
4. Level of attention. Policy changes tend to draw less attention when they are
“chosen” during periods of system stability.
Responses to the introduction of a new policy also affect the context in which the
policy is developed and implemented. Two factors are especially important here:
The costs of the policy to be implemented. If the costs of the policy are to be
borne by many people but the benefits concentrated in the hands of a few
(purchases of new cars and houses for ministers for instance), then the response of
the public is likely to be strongly negative. Costs that are borne by a small sector of
the population while the benefits of the policy are enjoyed by a larger number of
individuals (levies on business to support an economic development programme, for
instance) public reaction is likely to be muted. Because the security forces have the
capacity to disrupt the constitutional order, it is important to convince them they will
benefit professionally from the proposed changes, although some individuals may in
fact lose status or economic opportunities.
The pace of policy implementation. Policies that are implemented rapidly and
affect many people evoke substantial public response (raising the price of bread
overnight for instance). However, policies that are gradually applied evoke much
less public response (standardization of driving licenses for example). Since
improving governance in the security sector is essentially a matter of institutional
and attitudinal transformation, it is likely to proceed relatively slowly. This will
provide breathing space for the security forces themselves to adjust; it may create
dissatisfaction among segments of the population if certain types of behavior, such
as human rights violations, are not altered rapidly.
Whenever a policy is going to be introduced or modified, it is critical to take into
account the sentiments of political society, civil society, the state and the public. As far
as possible one must identify the major role players required for the success of the
policy (both inside and outside the organization concerned), determine their attitudes
toward the proposed changes, and analyse their influence over the formulation and
implementation of the policy.22
4.4 THE POLICY MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Figure 4-1 illustrates a generic policy process and the discussion below
elaborates on key aspects of that process with reference to the security sector. While
the procedures described below will always apply to all stakeholders engaged in
managing a policy process, the process itself should not be managed mechanistically.
Nor should it be over-managed. Rather, there should be sufficient latitude to take into
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The major actors in each portion of the security sector are discussed in Chapter 2. Additional
information on the roles they play in managing and overseeing the security sector will be provided in
chapters 5-8.
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