Policy Experiments: A View From Elsewhere (Elements in Public Policy) - Softcover

Ureta, Sebastian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 100959091X ISBN 13: 9781009590914

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2026

Synopsis

This Element introduces a new conceptualization of policy experiments. Beyond their mainstream understanding as randomized trials, policy experiments are seen as speculative instances for testing innovative policy instruments to address public concerns. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies, this conception of policy experiments comprises four interrelated processes. First, there is an encounter with a charismatic foreign policy instrument, generating imaginaries of future success. Second, a local issue is problematized, presenting the instrument as its ultimate solution. Third, an experimental mesocosm is assembled to test this problematization empirically. Finally, evaluations of this test are conducted, usually leading to further experiments. The book exemplifies these processes with case studies from Chile, a world leader in policy experimentation in the last decades. The ongoing troubles of public governance worldwide prompt us to conclude by arguing for careful modes of policy experimentation, more tentative, ethical, and inclusive forms of acting in our fragile worlds.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 100959091X
• ISBN 13: 9781009590914
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 92