LIST OF PANELS

In their innovative article “Decisions and Non-decisions: An analytical framework” , Bachrach and Baratz coined the concept of “Non-decision”, defining it as “the practice of limiting the scope of actual decision-making to “safe” issues by manipulating the dominant community values, myths, and political institutions and procedures”(Bachrach and Baratz, 1963: 632).  In fact, this concept emerged through trials to theorize power relationship in society, and therefore, Bachrach and Baratz suggested that the politics of Non-decision making is the covert face of power, which is “the less apparent but nonetheless extremely important face of power” (Bachrach and Baratz, 1970:9).

They had adopted Schattschneider’s (1960) term “Mobilization of Bias” (a set of dominant beliefs, rituals and institutional procedures that operate systematically and consistently to the benefit of certain persons and groups at the expense of others), in order to explain the manipulation taking place in this process and identified several forms of it. Further to their discussion regarding the latent power in Non-decision making, few researchers (e.g., Marchbank, 1994; Lukes, 2005; Bergqvist, Bjarnegård, and Zetterberg ,2015) have been expanding the literature theoretically and empirically. Some have pointed to the strategies and tactics through which, stakeholders defend the status quo in order to prevent any significant policy change (e.g., Sandberg, 2016), while very few others have suggested different factors resulting in non-decision making, aside from mobilization of bias (e.g., McCalla-Chen, 2000). Additionally, the consequences and implications of such policy are largely ignored theoretically.

A considerable part of the case studies that have been conducted, focus on the education field and on the health field, and there are still other policy fields, that have not been receiving attention. Likewise, the scope of countries, which have been researched, is quite limited.  No theoretical classifications or generalizations in terms of socio-political context and in terms of policy issues, have been made. Thus, the field remains undertheorized.

The objective of the panel is to get a deeper understanding of non-decision making in the broad perspective of public policy process. More specifically, the main question will be why and how policy makers avoid decision making in regard to various policy issues and what are the implications of this kind of policy.

The panel will invite papers that will extend and deepen work in the field of non-decision making in terms of theory building, innovating our thinking of non-decision by widening the  scope of players (interest groups, bureaucrats and the public), and widening the empirical data.

The non-decision making literature has been growing gradually, but still lacks various research aspects. This panel is interested in getting a deeper understanding of this research field and thereby  welcomes papers from all parts of the world, which examine a variety of policy fields, such as, security, environment, state-religion relationship, welfare etc. This will enable to make classifications and generalizations, which will contribute to theorizing this field.

Additionally, since non-decision making may take place at any phase pf the policy process, papers may refer to any of these, including cases, where a decision was actually made, manifested by legislation, but in fact, was limited to non-controversial issues and most changes have been prevented.

Contributions that focus on the various players who participate in non-decision making, including governmental (e.g., bureaucrats ) and non-governmental ones (e.g.,NGO’s) are welcome as well, elaborating the different motivations, power relations and the tactics that they employ in order to prevent changes in the status-quo.

subject to the quality of the papers, the convenors propose to prepare submission of a special issue of leading journal or publish an edited collection.