Book reviews may or may not become a more common feature of this blog. Obviously, as a doctoral student, I read a lot. And every once in a while, I come across a book that is not only a joy to read, but also very useful for my work and research. It is books like these that I think deserve a wider audience. One such book is ‘Understanding Public Policy’ by Scotsman Paul Cairney, also known for having co-authored an introduction to Scottish politics.
What’s in the book?
As with his book on Scottish politics, Dr. Cairney excels at writing introductions to difficult topics that are engaging and informative, but without compromising the depth and complexity of the subject matter.
Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Problems – the title gives it away – introduces the reader to the study of public policy in political science. As it says on the cover, to the theories and issues in this particular field. The emphasis of the book is clearly on the theories, which structure the book. Topics appear throughout the book to illustrate the theoretical points at each step.
The book has 13 chapters, which can roughly be seen as covering 3 parts:
- The first two chapters give an introduction and ask “How should we study it?”. The second chapter in particular seeks to provide the reader with a quick guide to why theories, models, and heuristics are needed and what they do. It also describes some of the pitfalls in the study of public policy. Although the chapter obviously cannot compete with the book entirely devoted to heuristics and (meta-)theory, it provides the reader with a good introduction. It remains perhaps the weakest part of the book.
- Chapters 3 through 7 cover the “big” theories in the field, from institutionalism to rational choice. Here Cairney’s strength comes into play. Each of these fields is a gigantic literature in itself. He does an excellent job of covering the basics, highlighting formative and current debates, and illustrating them with real issues.
- Chapters 8 to 12 cover some of the more specialized theories, ranging from multilevel governance to policy transfer. Once again, Cairney’s ability to condense the key elements of these scholarly studies into readable chapters, packed with definitions and explanations, makes these chapters and the book in general a highly informative read.
Why should I read it and why?
The book is an excellent introduction for students or scholars entering the field of public policy. Arguably, this is your main audience and the book does an excellent job of speaking to them.
I especially liked the brief definitions of key terms in the sidebar and the occasional sidebar highlighting some of the weirder twists and turns this literature has taken on some public policy issues in the past.
Cairney’s ability to draw inspiration from both classic and newer articles to present the discourse in each of these fields also makes the book excellent for anyone looking to refresh their knowledge in one of the fields covered by Cairney. Each chapter is essentially an up-to-date (up to publication) literature review of its field, providing the reader with a solid foundation and understanding. From there, it’s easy to dive in, read, explore, and write about any particular research topic within the field.
I have found the book incredibly useful when drafting a new conference paper. I recently started writing about my personal topic of interest, aid evaluation, from a new angle of policy transfer. I couldn’t have hoped for a better rough guide to the literature than the one I found in ‘Understanding Public Policy’. Highly recommended.