Individuals and the dynamics of policy learning: The case of the third battle of Newbury

Dudley, Geoffrey

Abstract

In recent years, the phenomenon whereby key individuals introduce effective ideas into policy processes has been identified as a vital agent in the redefinition of policy issues. In turn, this raises the basic question of how these individuals themselves undergo processes of learning and change. The article examines three models of policy learning in order to analyse what they may tell us about the dynamics of individual learning: the advocacy coalition framework; the process of learning by means of 'development'; and issue redefinition through processes of punctuated equilibria. The models are examined in the context of the learning dynamics of three key individuals within the salient anti-bypass group the 'Third Battle of Newbury'. The article's conclusion identifies three apparent paradoxes in individual learning dynamics and attempts to answer these with particular reference to the concepts of frame reflection and regulation by means of norm setting. © 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2007
• Journal: Public Administration
• Print ISSN: 0033-3298
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-9299
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 85
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 405-428
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2007.00648.x
• Keywords: policy learning, third battle of Newbury
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1027394
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2007.00648.x
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Output of Economic and Social Research Council project: 'The Internal Dynamics of Implementation Arenas: Case Studies from British Trunk Roads Policy' (R000222706) for which the author was the principal investigator. Formed the basis for the successful application for ESRC project R000223334 on Integrated Transport Systems.