Who Is the Problem: People or Politicians - Essay Example

The formulation of policies entails debates among different interest groups that represent the public, political parties, and the bureaucrats who are seen as experts in public policy formulation. The first approach to the public policy process is the focus on real social powers and institutions. This entails the social institutions within a country that are important in the formulation of public policies within a country. These institutions play important roles in public policy advocacy, promotion of citizen participation, and providing oversight role in public policy formulation (Danziger, 2013).

The second approach to the public policy process is the approach by formal elected leaders who form the primary axis of representation. This involves the congressional representatives who formulate public policies in Congress. Legislative bodies are effective and successful when they focus on public policies for instance those that align the goals of the community with those of the local government structures. They represent the objectives, goals, and needs of the community.

The third approach entails the consideration of the dynamics of different groups of pressure popularly understood as interest groups. Interest groups utilize litigation that can achieve public policy objectives. The influence of interest groups is a key aspect of the decision-making process in the public policy process (Danziger, 2013).

The fourth is the historical social conditions and trends of political needs. In public policy formulation processes, these conditions and needs are considered to ensure that the public policies that are formed represent the needs of the current population but also reflect the historical social conditions in a country. The fifth and last approach is the external and internal political and economic conditions that are considered social and domestic factors in the sense that they are of interest to the public within a country. These issues are therefore considered in the public policy formation process because they directly affect the public and cannot be assumed in the public process formulation process. There is no more legitimate process than the other among the ones above. However, each contributes to the understanding of the other (Danziger, 2013).

From the article Who's the problem: People or politicians? the problem is the people, not the politicians. This is because politicians undertake their roles when it comes to public policy formulation. However, the people protest even to the policies that are meant to benefit them in the end. Politicians are forced to backtrack because if they do not, the people end up killing themselves and destroying property. The people promote corruption by reelecting corrupt leaders and protesting against moves and policies that are meant to make life better for them for instance in the case of Nigeria and Jordan (Agrawal, 2012). Read More