Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Foundations and analytical dimensions
- Part II New conceptual developments: Resource-based approach and analytical dimensions
- Part III The 10 public action resources
- Part IV Outlook and advice for practical application
- Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses of the proposed approach
- References
- Index
2 - Definition of public action resources
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Foundations and analytical dimensions
- Part II New conceptual developments: Resource-based approach and analytical dimensions
- Part III The 10 public action resources
- Part IV Outlook and advice for practical application
- Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses of the proposed approach
- References
- Index
Summary
Overview (reminders)
The action resources of public policy actors constitute the means of action available to each of the public and private actors affected by the collective problem to be resolved. Throughout the policy cycle, the actors mobilize a number of resources that are available to them for the purpose of attaining their objectives. These resources enable them to act within this space, that is to position themselves in relation to the other actors, either on the basis of logics of cooperation (coalitions, apprenticeships) or logics of confrontation (conflicts, obstacles, opposition). The action resources constitute the actors’ power which, according to the classical definition by Max Weber (Weber 1978), consists in the capacity of an actor to impose a particular behaviour on another actor that the latter would not have adopted if it had not been imposed by the former. Thus the resources available to an actor are fundamentally relational in that they constitute a lever of action for the latter in the context of the relationships it maintains with the other actors…. (Knoepfel et al, 2010: 61)
The specifics: ‘Resource-related’ definition of public action resources
The definition of a public action resource as presented in our basic textbook on the analysis of Swiss environmental policies aims to eliminate the ambiguity that continues to exist around the notion of power with the aim of enabling its more advanced application in empirical research and in the everyday management of resources. It is at the heart of this book, which adopts the finite number of these resources hic et nunc along with their qualifiers. However, I would like to extend its basis by referring to studies carried out over the last 20 years on institutional resource regimes (IRR) (see Gerber et al, 2009; de Buren, 2015) and concerning regimes for the management of natural resources. This research is based on a combination of approaches originating from institutional economics (particularly in relation to the environment) and public policy analysis. It focused initially on the area of renewable natural resources (water, air, climate, soil and forests) but progressively extended its interest to manufactured resources, both material (for example, water and aviation infrastructure) and immaterial (landscapes, documented information and labelled heritage).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Public Policy Resources , pp. 43 - 50Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2018