The importance of network in public policy and governance: Critical perspectives and an analytical framework for going beyond an empty signifier
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Abstract
The study of public policy and governance nowadays pays special attention on the network approach. It is a consequence of the fact that our society is now turned into a network society by which public policy as state policy and the approach called government and traditional public administration are not seen to be effective anymore. Instead, a transition to the development of policy networks and network governance is seen to be essential. Nevertheless, while the importance of network approach is increased, its content is still reproduced within a maze without particular details as a new morality and an aesthetics in architecture. Its quintessence seems to be merely a metaphor, a rhetoric, a romantic discourse or an empty signifier. Structural problems are embedded in its shadow, while power inequalities are within its uncertain domain. It turns to be the new mode of control that hides vertical relations in its horizontal image. The network is appeared as an innovation, but in its essence bureaucratic and market mechanisms still operate mostly the same. Within its operation, new gaps for new ways of corruption are opened, while democracy is not always promoted and injustice is reproduced. Aside from criticisms, this article proposes an analytical framework developed from a research project to pave a way towards the study of policy networks and network governance that goes beyond an empty signifier. The proposed framework focuses interactions within networks by offering the articulation of network analysis to the analysis of collaboration, democracy and justice, the quality of deliberation, and the autonomy as well as the capacity of each network constituent actor.
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