Politics and Politicization of Public Policy

Although the link between politics and public policy has been a persistent research question in the field of politics since its inception, it has been treated in very different ways depending on the approach chosen and the author. Considering that these two concepts are ontologically distinct, each with its own logic, its own configuration of actors and its own field of activity, some authors approach this question in terms of the relationship between two different systems, the political system and the public policy system. Other authors favour an epistemological distinction, arguing that while there is indeed an autonomous political system with its own logic, this time public policies are considered as objects that can be politicised, i.e. that can become political objects. Finally, other authors have argued that public policy is ontologically a political object and consider its design and implementation as political activities. The aim of this panel is to discuss this question of the relationship between politics and public policy on the basis of empirical and/or theoretical work.