Paul Cairney: Politics & Public Policy

Still Walking on the Bright Side? Developments in the Scientific Study of Policy Success Special Edition for Policy Design and Practice – Call for Papers SI Editors Paul Cairney, Matthew Flinders, Janine O’Flynn, Tina Nabatchi In 2021 a group of … Continue reading →

The second in our PoPP group’s series of blog posts reflecting on the connections between established political science/ policy theory insights and a renewed focus on learning from success. Positive public policy – or ‘walking on the bright side’– focuses attention on … Continue reading →

By Liz Richardson, Catherine Durose, Paul Cairney, John Boswell. This post introduces our new article in Policy Sciences. Many policy buzzwords seem to catch fire then fizzle out before their value is clear in practice. For example, we often hear … Continue reading →

These posts will help to deliver key tasks for the FORTH2O Policy Innovation Partnership at the University of Stirling. For a thorough description of the project and its progress, please see: A renewed vision for FORTH2O We are recruiting very quickly, … Continue reading →

This very long blog post describes new developments in the FORTH2O Policy Innovation Partnership (a shorter version is available on the FORTH2O website). A change in our leadership team, coupled with a heightened focus on project delivery and new recruitment, … Continue reading →

The first in our PoPP group’s series of blog posts reflecting on the connections between established political science/ policy theory insights and a renewed focus on learning from success. Learning from success and failure should be a routine part of … Continue reading →

By Paul Cairney, John Boswell, Hashum Mahmood, Annie Bliss. This post summarises our new article in Social Science & Medicine. Advocates of preventive health and care policy often feel like they are hitting their heads against a brick wall. Time … Continue reading →

This post summarises my article for the 20th Anniversary of British Politics, which appears in Twenty Years of British Politics. Much like a diesel engine, it starts off with an unhelpful grumble, soon chugs along happily enough, then takes a … Continue reading →

This post continues the discussion begun in What is politics? I tend to use the question Why do policymakers seem to ignore your evidence? as a vehicle to introduce political issues. It highlights the politics of evidence use then prompts … Continue reading →

This post continues the discussion that begins in What is politics? It informs a talk on prevention for Public Health Association Australia Preventive Health Conference 2025 ‘Prevention is Political’ The politics of prevention involves (1) deciding who is responsible for … Continue reading →

Here is an introductory post to inform two talks: (1) on evidence for WHO Collaborating Centre for Health in All Policies and Social Determinants of Health, Tampere University, (2) on prevention for Public Health Association Australia Preventive Health Conference 2025 … Continue reading →

I’ve taken the old Policy in 500 Words: what is public policy and why does it matter? then mentioned AI and changed the examples from tobacco to (mostly Scottish) education policy (to accompany a lecture for EDUU9E2). Here is the lecture … Continue reading →

By Paul Cairney and Claire Toomey, University of Stirling. This post summarises our pre-print in Open Research Europe. It is the second of a three-part series of articles on collaborative policymaking. See also: So you want to be a systems leader? Abstract … Continue reading →

The following short story of the Multiple Streams Framework is one part of a forthcoming article – ‘Kingdon’s multiple streams framework: what happens next?’ – in an IRPP Symposium ‘A 40-Year Retrospective of John Kingdon’s Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies’. … Continue reading →

By Paul Cairney, Lukas Fuchs, and Eli Auslender. This post identifies a collection of systems that are relevant to the use of evidence for policy and policymaking. In that context, what would a system-of-systems look like in theory and practice? … Continue reading →

This post first appeared on the University of Stirling blog, is explored further in UK in a Changing Europe and the Heseltine Institute ‘Can policy be more preventive?‘, even further in this workshop summary, and even even further in this … Continue reading →

This post – based on this article – first appeared in UK in a Changing Europe. See also How can UK Government become more effective?  Catherine Durose, John Boswell, Paul Cairney, Sarah Ayres, Ian C Elliott, Matt Flinders, Steve Martin, and … Continue reading →

By Paul Cairney and Claire Toomey, University of Stirling. This post summarises our article published in Open Research Europe. The review began as an unpublished report to the European Commission Joint Research Centre. Policy problems are complex and not amenable … Continue reading →

The full advert is here and I have pasted the main part below. The rest of the post contains my personal thoughts on the role and recruitment process, blending background information and some helpful advice. These notes address a potentially … Continue reading →

This post by Sean Kippin introduces chapter 12 of Politics and Policymaking in the UK by Paul Cairney and Sean Kippin. The book stopped at the end of the Conservative government, but the main UK page will have updates from 2024 (including … Continue reading →