Discussant : Nikolaos Zahariadis, visting professor at Sciences Po Grenoble / Pacte

How do we explain policy change? This question, although classic, continues to be a central one in political science. That is not surprising if we take into account the tight link between public policies and democracy; in the end, the question of “who decides and why” becomes crucial. In that respect, the Multiple Streams Framework literature, based on John W.  Kingdon’s work in Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies (2002, 2nd edition), has been particularly vivid over the past few years. From policy entrepreneurship to window of opportunity, the Multiple Streams Framework bursts with useful and heuristic concepts to better understand policy change in contemporary democracies. The aim of this seminar will be to explore the potential of this theoretical framework to analyse cases drawn from different researches (Sabine Saurugger, Eva Deront & Chloé Bérut). Nikolaos Zahariadis, Professor of International Studies at Rhodes College and visiting Professor at Science Po Grenoble, will discuss these works. Pr. Zahariadis has indeed a long-standing experience using this framework, and has actively participated in its international diffusion. Three “researches in progress” will be discussed during the session:

• SAURUGGER Sabine : “"Are Courts policy entrepreneurs?"
• DERONT Eva : “Resistances to change in the European nuclear policy”
• BERUT Chloé & SAURUGGER Sabine: “Crises and budgetary restraint in policies: a matter of opportunity? French healthcare reforms in 1995 and 2004”