Postmodern Policy Analysis in the Premodern West: Problem Definition in the Yellowstone Bison Case

Abstract

Responding to calls for revised pedagogical strategies this article highlights the use of postmodern techniques in applied policy analysis. Focusing on the crucial role of problem definition in the Yellowstone National Park bison controversy of 1996-97, a postmodern approach is briefly examined and then applied in the form of a narrative analysis. An analysis of original survey data, newspaper articles, letters to the editors, public speeches, and public texts producedfive narratives: 1) “Hidden Agendas and Heroes,” 2) “Winter Ghost Towns and a Hobson’s Choice,” 3) “Two Goliaths and Little (David) Montana,” 4) “Blue Ribbons, a Mercy Harvest, and Anti-Recreationist Conspirators,” and 5) “Wild Bison and Wild Bureaucrats.” The article touches on language, power, democracy, and the relationship between positivism and postmodemism. It is argued that postmodem techniques can move from the realm of theory to the realm of practice and make significant contributions to applied policy analysis.

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