POLICY- MAKERS

OFFICIAL POLICY- MAKERS Official policy-makers have the legal authority to engage in the formation of public policy. These include legislators, executives, administrators, and judges. Primary policy-makers (such as parliament) have direct consitutional authority to act. Supplementary policy-makers (administrative bodies), however, operate on the basis of authority granted by others (primary policy-makers)

LEGISLATORS They are engaged in the central political tasks of lawmaking and policy formation in a political system At the national level, policies on such matters as taxation, civil rights, social welfare, economic regulation and enviromental protection tend to be shaped by Parliament through the enactment of legislation. Parliament operates with the help of committee and subcommitees. There are experts and consultants that help parliamentary members in the enactment process (staff assistance) Legislatures are more important in policy formation in democratic than in authoritarian countries. In the democratic cathegory, legislators generally have a larger role in presidental systems than in parliamentary systems. Moreover, some countries have no legislature; public policies are executive or monarchic products.

THE EXECUTIVE In presindential systems executive is formed by the president, however, in parliamentary democracies the executive formed by the government or the cabinet.

ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES Traditionally it is believed that politicians make decisions and form policies, administrators implement them. But in practice, politics and administration are inseperable, and administrative bodies are often significantly involved in the formation of public policies. Especially in complex, industrial societies, the tecniicality and complexity of many policy matters, the need for continuing control of matters, and legislators’ lack of time and information have caused the delegation of much discreationary authority to administrative bodies. Consequently, administrative organizations make many decisions and issue many rules that have far-reaching political and policy consequences.

THE COURTS The courts have often greatly affected the nature and content of public policy by exercising the powers of judicial review and statutory interpretation (yasal yorum). Their selection, whether by appointment or election, typically depends on their party affiliation and their policy preferences and values. Today the courts are also playing a more positive role, specifiying not only what government cannot do but also what it must do with to meet legal or constiutional requirements.

NONGOVERNMENTAL PARTICIPANTS The official policy-makers are joined by many other participants in the policy process, including interest groups, political parties, research organizaitons, communications media, and individual citizens. These parties do not legally have legal authority to make binding policy decisions.

INTEREST GROUPS Interest groups appear to take an important part in policy- making in practically all countries. Groups express demands and present alternatives for policy action. Groups supply public officials with much information, often technical, about the nature and possible consequences of policy proposals. Interest groups representing labor, agriculture, business, education, health and other areas of society are a major source of demands for public policy action. Groups that are well orginized, large in size, and skillfully led are likely to be better than those that are poorly organized, poorly financed and low in social status.

INTEREST GROUPS Single-issue interest groups: Focus on one issue or set of related issues such as gun control or legislation on abortion. Public interest groups are important players in the policy process. The amount of influence that interest groups have upon decisions depends on a number of factors: The size of the membership İts monetary and other resources Its cohesiveness (birleştiricilik) The skill of its leadership İts social status The presence or absence of competing organizations The attitudes of public officials

POLITICAL PARTIES In the US political parties care more about power than about policy. The Democrat Party draws disproportionately big city, labor, minority and ethnic voters; the Republician Party draws disproportionately from rural, small town and suborban areas, fundemental religious groups, and businesspeople and professionals. The parties often come into conflict on such issues as welfare programs, labor legislation, business regulation, public housing, taxation and agricultural income support legislation.

POLITICAL PARTIES In modern societies gnerally, political parties often perform the function of interest aggregation, that is, they seek to convert the particular demands of interest groups into general policy alternatives. In one party systems, they are the predominant force in policymaking.

RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS Private research organizations, frequently referred as think tanks, are important players in policymaking. These organizations are staffed with ful time policy analists and researchers. Their studies and reports provide basic information and data on policy issues, develop alternatives and proposals for handling policy problems. They also engage in policy advocacy They provide expert but neutral information to policy makers, hovewer pressure groups provide biased of self-interested information.

COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA The communications media (newspapers, news magazines, radio, TV and internat) participate policymaking as suppliers of information, as agenda setters. Most of the people get information on public policies with communications media

THE INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN In some cases citizens can participate directly in decisionmaking. In some countries citizen initiative process enables citizens to vote directly on legislation. Initiative, referandum and recall are benefited to transferring power from politicians to people. In practice policymaking process is dominated by powerful interest groups.