Policy dynamics and types of agency: From individual to collective patterns of action

Abstract

Despite the relevance of structures and constraints to the outcomes of policy‐making, agency emerges as a key aspect in accounting for policy dynamics. Indeed, agency is a concept that may embrace different components according to their empirical reference and policy context. In policy studies, different agents are conceptualized to be relevant in policy‐making, but they address the issues of similar individuals who randomly jump into the policy process to make a specific contribution. This paper proposes to de‐personalize agency in policy dynamics by arguing that the different types of agents can be attributed to specific patterns of action and that related tasks are a necessary element of stability and change in policy dynamics. Thus, we propose three types of patterns—entrepreneurship, brokerage, and leadership—and we show how the use of these concepts can help to better order, describe, and grasp agency in policy dynamics.

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