This book offers a novel, refreshing and politically engaged way to think about public policy. Instead of treating policy as simply the government’s best efforts to address problems, it offers a way to question critically how policies produce “problems” as particular sorts of problems, with important political implications. Governing, it is argued, takes place through these problematizations. According to the authors, interrogating policies and policy proposals as problematizations involves asking questions about the assumptions they rely upon, how they have been made, what their effects are, as well as how they could be unmade. To enable this form of critical analysis, this book introduces an analytic strategy, the “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” (WPR) approach. It features examples of applications of the approach with topics as diverse as obesity, economic policy, migration, drug and alcohol policy, and gender equality to illustrate the growing popularity of this way of thinking and to provide clear and useful examples of poststructural policy analysis in practice.

This book offers a novel, refreshing and politically engaged way to think about public policy. Instead of treating policy as simply the government's best efforts to address problems, it offers a way to question critically how policies produce "problems" as particular sorts of problems, with important political implications. Governing, it is argued, takes place through these problematizations. According to the authors, interrogating policies and policy proposals as problematizations involves asking questions about the assumptions they rely upon, how they have been made, what their effects are, as well as how they could be unmade.

Written for Higher Education Masters and PhD programs, this landmark textbook joins the theory of feminist post-structuralism with research methods for the purpose of policy analysis in Higher Education. It showcases the different methods that can be applied to a range of topics in Higher Education policy and policy development. Reconstructing Policy in Higher Education highlights the work of accomplished and award-winning scholars, and provides an in-depth examination of theoretical frameworks and concrete examples of how feminist post-structuralism effectively informs research methods and can serve as a vital tool for policy-makers and analysts.

Poststructuralism, Citizenship and Social Policy shows how poststructuralist ideas can be usefully applied in the areas of welfare, health, education and science and technology policy, making particular reference to the theme of citizenship. The impact of poststructuralism on thinking in the social sciences and humanities over the last decade has been profound. However, to date, there has been little systematic analysis of the implications of poststructuralism for the critical analysis of social policy. Poststructuralism, Citizenship and Social Policy will provide essential reading for students and researchers working in the areas of welfare studies, the sociology of health and medicine, political studies, social work, social administration and education.

This volume provides an important reading of the political implications of postmodernity, focussing on the nature of power, ideology and subjectivity The volume critically discusses the work of key postructuralist thinkers: Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, Deleuze and the often overlooked Max Stirner

This edited volume brings together leading scholars to debate the promises of poststructural politics within the study of the International Political Economy (IPE). The volume offers a sustained theoretical dialogue on the meaning of discourse, identity, and representation for practices of political economy.

This major new textbook introduces students to the dynamic and evolving field of foreign policy. The book opens with a consideration of different theoretical and historical perspectives; it then focuses on a range of actors and the goals they seek to advance; and it ends with a series of case studies involving issues and crises relating to a wide range of different countries Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases is timely given the growing significance of foreign policyin the post-9/11 world. It will be essential reading for all students new to foreign policy.The book is accompanied by an Online Resource Centre.Student resources:TimelineWeb linksFlashcard glossaryInstructor resources:Three case studiesPowerPoint slides