Public Policy
Madjid Vahid; Christian Velud
Abstract
Some concepts fall victim to their success. Such is the case with the idea of governance in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A vigilant observer notes that this concept is commonly used by politicians and certain elites without any serious consideration being given to its scientific meaning. On the other ...
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Some concepts fall victim to their success. Such is the case with the idea of governance in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A vigilant observer notes that this concept is commonly used by politicians and certain elites without any serious consideration being given to its scientific meaning. On the other hand, it is notable that a significant number of institutes (Think Tanks) and even departments attached to universities are emerging with the same mindset. The most striking example of this is the hasty and unconsulted creation of the Faculty of Governance at the University of Tehran, at the instigation of its presidency.The aim of this article is therefore to clarify the concept of governance and show that it is more than just a concept; it is a paradigm paving the way for a new way of looking at the conduct of State and public policies and actions, intertwined with the nation's diplomatic strategies. To this end, we have examined the definition of the concept and its evolution in political and scientific fields, particularly in France, based on literature that is essentially French but also American. We have drawn on the masterworks of such illustrious authors as Jacques Chevallier, Michel Crozier, Jean-Claude Thoenig, Pierre Lascoumes, Patrick Le Galès, Yves Mény, Patrick Hassenteufel, and Theodore J. Lowi.This approach proved beneficial insofar as it enabled us to shed light on the typology of public policies, on the evolution of State actions from the 19th century to the present day, and on analyses from the center of organizational sociology in order to show the familiarity between constituent policies, consultative policies, modest policies, and the notion of governance. Additionally, we explored how these governance frameworks influence and are influenced by Iran's diplomatic engagements on the international stage.For a more detailed analysis, we employed both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods. Document reviews, case analysis, expert interviews, and analysis of existing data were among the methods used for gathering and analyzing information.Our study revealed that governance can take three distinct directions: corporate governance, good governance, and global governance. These types of governance are jointly visible and at work in the conduct of public affairs in modern countries and in their diplomatic initiatives. Their absence is not difficult to demonstrate in a country like Iran. This typology of governance shows just how far the reality of governance is from the practice of policy-making and diplomacy in Iran. The logic of Iran's R.I. means that policy is conducted vertically, demonstrating that the rulers' approach is merely a top-down one. In fact, policies are drawn up at the top of the State, and then transferred to the administrative apparatus, with the requirement that orders be carried out and that citizens be excluded from almost the entire process.The usefulness of this working method, which can be described as comparative, is obvious to us. It shows how the imported State, in this case the State of the I.R. of Iran, following its access to the monopoly of power, can show itself capable of hijacking modern concepts to use them on its own territory for its own ends, and more strangely how elites, academics in part, accompany the State in this direction and justify its actions.In our view, this misappropriation will have problematic effects. In the first place, it makes dialogue between the country's elites and academics and those outside the country difficult, if not impossible, as it requires them to explain the content of the concept beforehand, and its use with two distinct and contradictory meanings. In the past, the use of other concepts in this way has been a source of ambiguity and confusion. The best examples are the concepts of constitution and civil society. With regard to the latter, we recall that the former President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, came to power insisting on the need to respect civil society. Once in power, he pointed out that the typical example of civil society in his mind was the one that existed at the time of the Prophet of Islam in the 7th century of the Christian era.Secondly, it blocks the virtues of change in a concept that lies at the heart of a new paradigm in the social sciences and the sciences of government. We are convinced that the governance paradigm, understood in its original meaning, is apt to invite heavy-handed, arrogant States to open up to greater modesty and accountability towards their citizens and to give more space to civil society, which will inevitably lead to the construction of a more efficient and, by extension, more legitimate State, with a more nuanced and effective approach to diplomacy.
Public Policy
Madjid Vahid
Abstract
The purpose of this contribution is to shed light on the evolution of public policy studies in France. It should be noted that this discipline was born in the United States in the 1950s mainly based on the works of Harold Lasswell who is known as the founding father of the discipline. Lasswell and his ...
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The purpose of this contribution is to shed light on the evolution of public policy studies in France. It should be noted that this discipline was born in the United States in the 1950s mainly based on the works of Harold Lasswell who is known as the founding father of the discipline. Lasswell and his collaborators aimed to study the actions of the State to then be able to help decision-makers act more effectively and of course more democratically. It was in the 1980s that this discipline entered the scientific field in France. We believe that four steps are distinguishable in this regard.1- The attempts of synthesis aimed at bringing and knowing the discipline in France. The works of Madeleine Grawitz and Jean Leca, Yves Mény and Jean-Claude Thoenig, and Patrick Hassenteufel are notable in this regard. They brilliantly managed to clarify the foundations of the discipline and the research carried out in the United States and France in its frameworks. They were convinced that this new branch of political science would help to better understand the logic of public action, which would logically lead to its improvement.2- The multiple works carried out since the 1980s were inspired by the sociology of organizations. Michel Crozier and Erhard Friedberg have particularly prepared a fruitful ground for public policy researchers to access epistemological, theoretical, and methodical tools to analyze French public policies. Of course, the sociology of organizations reveals its American inspirations, and the specialists of the Center for the Sociology of Organizations have not hidden it. The sociology of organizations emphasizes the theoretical values of some concepts such as actor, system, power, areas of uncertainty, and rationality of actors, which show a convincing capacity in the analysis of the strategies of the actors within the organizations and in the analysis of the organizations themselves which are the main frameworks of action in modern societies.3- Research leading to cognitive analysis of public policies in France. Here, we should emphasize the founding works of Pierre Muller and Bruno Jobert. The elaboration of concepts such as representation, mediator, and référentiel in their analyses has opened very useful routes for future researchers to know the logic of public policies in France and the possible means of their change, especially since the 1990s. These researches show a certain utility in the analysis of some major turning points in French politics, among which the neoliberal turn made under the presidency of François Mitterrand, however socialist and attached to left-wing values.4- A new direction of research is known by the studies and analyses of researchers such as Gérard Noiriel, Renaud Payre, and Gilles Pollet. They are at the origin of a new approach in the study of social phenomena and actions of public authorities. Gérard Noiriel in a part of his works gives an overview of an approach that is known as the socio-historical approach. Renaud Payre and Gilles Pollet are among the leading researchers who apply this approach in the field of public policy and the actions of public authorities. They reveal the sociological and historical foundations of policies and actions and show precisely how socio-history differs from historical sociology or sociological history. In the field of analysis of public action, socio-history provides useful tools for researchers to deepen their knowledge in areas such as the emergence of new social categories (unemployed, immigrants, etc.), the transfer of knowledge and experience from one country to another, and the establishment of regional entities such as the European Union.In conclusion, we note that we had, throughout the writing of this article, an implicit objective in our mind: Clarifying the efforts made over the decades in France to be able to import a discipline that has proven its innovative abilities in its original cradle. Public policies are now part of the integrated disciplines in Iranian universities and it is of course necessary to know how the scientists of a developed country attached to its independence and originality, France, have worked at the entrance of a new scientific discipline created outside their country to be able to benefit from it for their development and be at the origin of its development in turn. We hope that Iranian academics and scientists will follow the example of their French colleagues, which appears fully promising.
