Abstract

The subject matter of the present issue of “Horizons of Politics” focuses on the problem that in Poland public and academic debate does not have a long history, although it concerns matters undertaken within many disciplines: the social and political sciences, administration and management. The actions of public policy have only recently been treated by the institutions of the central and territorial government as a distinct field of knowledge and practice – increasing the likelihood that they are recognized as a spontaneous mobilization in order to access external funding rather than the result of well-considered strategy based on reliable data. Strengthening public policies in proven concepts of policy and rational management techniques can increase the effectiveness of interventions undertaken by the state, the main beneficiary of which is the state itself, but – above all – the society which the state has to serve. Public policies feed on the problems of society; they are a response to the needs and voices
of citizens. Contemporary collective problems are characterized mainly by their growing complexity. They cannot be solved solely by producing pervasive draft laws or regulations. Public policies today need chiefly two modifications: on the one hand devolution of powers – the increased participation of stakeholders (NGOs, universities, think tanks etc.) during both the deliberation and evaluation of particular interventions; and on the other hand streamlining – the use of information management tools, both in the form of competent analytical teams and operational databases (evidence-based policy). The devolution of powers within public policies will look at the social problems being faced by those concerned, while streamlining will enable its effective and adequate resolution. A comprehensive response to the need for devolution and the streamlining of public policies leads to the idea of governance that balances the share of state and society in the process of public management. One of the underrated features of the New Public Management is its horizontal orientation, which
• requires public policies to be recognized in the broader context of the strategic management of a country, region, province, municipality etc. of development,
• allows the hooking-up of elements of public policies at different
stages of their design, implementation and evaluation,
• improves the coordination between the different public policies
actors of unequal institutional strength and usually dissimilar
interests. In the world of politics that is increasingly characterized by haste and the superficiality of enforced changes, often serving the state rather than the public, knowledge of public policy (policy studies) can act as a gyrocompass. This navigational device, which stabilizes the course of ships and aircraft, may be an apt metaphor for describing the principle of public policies. They should be insensitive to the interferences of the political field, and should always point to socio-economic rather than the administrative-legal pole; they should also be characterized by the absence of oscillations during the governmental change. Public policies as gyrocompasses have limitations as well: they depend on a limited supply of expert knowledge, they need peace and time to be established properly, and, finally, they are as complicated as the problems that need to be solved. We hope that the articles included in this “Horizons of Politics” volume will contribute not only to the examination of public policies as devices for stabilizing their implementation, but also as a tool indicating the direction that is worth following.