Policy Framing Issues in the World of COVID-19

By Beryl A. Radin

This book is a somewhat unusual depiction of a difficult policy issue. It transcends almost all boundaries because of its constant change and its movement across many different participants.

It was found attached to a range of policy topics, methodologies and approaches. Some of these were familiar while others seemed new. Interest in this topic was exhibited across the globe and did not appear to be delivered along with a narrow political agenda.

While researchers tended to re-examine classic public policy literatures (such as those dealing with implementation, federalism and budgeting) they did so by raising unusual issues. But this was not typical since analysts are likely to emphasize similarities rather than differences in settings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889105459

Beryl A. Radin

Beryl A. Radin (born 1936) is an American public administration author, researcher, and academic. An elected member of the National Academy of Public Administration, she was the Managing Editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory from 2000 to 2005. She created and served as the Editor of the Georgetown University Press book series, Public Management, and Change. Her government service included two years as a Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget of the US Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies and a range of consultancies.

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About the Author

Beryl A. Radin is an author, researcher and academic. An elected member of the National Academy of Public Administration, she was the Managing Editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory from 2000 to 2005. She created and served as the editor of the Georgetown University Press book series, Public Management and Change. Her government service included two years as a Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Commission on Civil Rights, and other agencies and a range of consultancies.

Professor Radin has written more than a dozen books and many articles on public policy and public management issues. Much of her work has focused on policy analysis, intergovernmental relationships and federal management change. Her recent work has focused on comparative policy analysis. Her most recent books are Defining Policy Analysis: A Journey that Never Ends, (published by Cambridge Elements: Public Policy); Policy Analysis in the Twenty-First Century: Complexity, Conflict, and Cases (published by Routledge); the second edition of her book on policy analysis, Beyond Machiavelli: Policy Analysis Reaches Midlife; and Federal Management Reform in a World of Contradictions, both published by Georgetown University Press.

Dr. Radin has been a past president of the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management and has been active in the public administration section of the American Political Science Association and the Public Management Research Association as well as the International Public Policy Association.

She received the 2014 International Research Society for Public Management Routledge Prize for outstanding contribution to public management research, the John Gaus Award from the American Political Science Association in 2012, and the H. George Frederickson Award for lifetime achievement from the Public Management Research Association in 2009. She was the recipient of the 2002 Donald Stone Award given by the American Society for Public Administration’s section on intergovernmental management to recognize a scholar’s distinguished record. She was a senior Fulbright lecturer in India and has continued research in that country; she has also been involved in teaching and research in Hong Kong, Israel, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, and Australia.

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Beryl A. Radin 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The story, experiences, and words are the author’s alone.

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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Radin, Beryl A.

Policy Framing Issues in the World of Covid-19

ISBN 9798889105442 (Paperback)

ISBN 9798889105459 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023914896

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

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New York, NY 10005

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Acknowledgment

This book benefitted from the advice of Joshua Chanin, my former doctoral student. He is a coauthor of two books with me, a student of policy and government, and now at San Diego State University.

Thanks to Joshua Chanin, Tom Birkland, Sharon Dobie, MD, and David Weimer.

Abstract

Approximately 25 years ago when environmental policies became more visible in the developed world, a concept entitled focusing events began to be used. Thomas Birkland defined them as large scale, sudden events that grab the attention of the public. (Journal of Public Policy, 1 January 1998, Volume 18, Issue 1, pp. 53–74).

One could define this analysis as an examination of the information that is used in the early stages of the policy analysis process. Most examples of those early stages are triggered by some external action that is known and predictable (for example the schedule of election timing). In this case, however, the process of developing policies and procedures to deal with the various shifts and needs of victims of COVID-19 has been incredibly complex. As such, it does not fit into the rational decision-making processes that many people in the policy field seek to define and involve.

As a result, it is difficult to find a situation comparable to these developments. The topic itself has been a short-hand term for contemporary policies and changes that flow from a seemingly uncontrollable disease. It involves a range of players, issues and conflicts that seem to be unlike anything else experienced in the US. This book attempts to paint a picture of the extent of activity involved in those early efforts that moved beyond formal and traditional policy players, but continue to involve those players in the story. In that sense, the work does return to Birkland’s definition of focusing events.

It draws on classic public policy literatures such as implementation, federalism, and budgeting to provide relevant perspectives. That brought me to an unusual methodology. It was one that was modeled on the biblical myth of the Tower of Babel. Found in the Book of Genesis, this story was meant to explain why the world’s peoples speak different languages and – as a result – are unable to communicate with one another.

This book benefited from the advice of Joshua Chanin, my former doctoral student, a co-author of two books with me, a student of police and government, and now on the faculty of San Diego State University.

Introduction

Approximately 25 years ago when environmental policies became more visible in the developed world, a concept entitled focusing events began to be used. These events were defined as large scale, sudden events that grab the attention of