Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:50:36.044Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
Series:   Elements in Public Policy

Multiple Streams and Policy Ambiguity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2024

Rob A. DeLeo ,
Reimut Zohlnhöfer  and
Nikolaos Zahariadis
Rob A. DeLeo
Affiliation:
Bentley University
Reimut Zohlnhöfer
Affiliation:
Heidelberg University
Nikolaos Zahariadis
Affiliation:
Rhodes College

Summary

The last decade has seen a proliferation of research bolstering the theoretical and methodological rigor of the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), one of the most prolific theories of agenda-setting and policy change. This Element sets out to address some of the most prominent criticisms of the theory, including the lack of empirical research and the inconsistent operationalization of key concepts, by developing the first comprehensive guide for conducting MSF research. It begins by introducing the MSF, including key theoretical constructs and hypotheses. It then presents the most important theoretical extensions of the framework and articulates a series of best practices for operationalizing, measuring, and analyzing MSF concepts. It closes by exploring existing gaps in MSF research and articulating fruitful areas of future research.
Get access

Keywords

multiple streams frameworkagenda-settingpolicy changepolicy entrepreneurshippolicy windows
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Public Policy
Online ISBN: 9781009397926
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 21 March 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackrill, Robert, and Kay, Adrian. 2011. “Multiple Streams in EU Policymaking: The Case of the 2005 Sugar Reform.” Journal of European Public Policy 18: 72–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akgul, Arif, Akbas, Halil and Kule, Ahmet. 2019. “Probation System in Turkey: An Analysis of a Public Policy Formation Using Multiple Streams Framework.” International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice 43(4): 325–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alvarez, Michael, Cheibub, Jose A., Limongi, Fernando, and Przeworski, Adam. 1996. “Classifying Political Regimes.” Studies in Comparative International Development 31(2): 3–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarah, Anderson, DeLeo, Rob A., and Taylor, Kristin. 2020. “Policy Entrepreneurs, Legislators, and Agenda Setting: Information and Influence.” Policy Studies Journal 48(3): 587–611.Google Scholar
Anderson, William F., and MacLean, David A.. 2015. “Public Forest Policy Development in New Brunswick, Canada: Multiple Streams Approach, Advocacy Coalition Framework, and the Role of Science.” Ecology and Society 20(4): 20–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arieli, Tamar, and Cohen, Nissim. 2013. “Policy Entrepreneurs and Post-Conflict Cross-Border Cooperation: A Conceptual Framework and the Israeli-Jordanian Case.” Policy Sciences 46(3): 237–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, Gwen. 2021. “Distinguishing the Street-Level Entrepreneurs.” Public Administration 99(3): 439–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asante, William. 2023. “The Multiple Streams Framework and Forest Policy Change Process in Ghana.” Politics and International Relations 9(1): 1–13.Google Scholar
Babayan, Ararat, Schlaufer, Caroline, and Uldanov, Arrtem. 2021. “A Policy Window and a Network of Global and Local Policy Entrepreneurs: The Introduction of Opioid Substitution Therapy in Belarus.” Central European Journal of Public Policy 15(2): 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bache, Ian. 2013. “Measuring Quality of Life for Public Policy: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? Agenda-Setting Dynamics in the European Union.” Journal of European Public Policy 20(1): 21–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balla, Steven J. 2001. “Interstate Professional Associations and the Diffusion of Policy Innovations.” American Politics Research 29(3): 221–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakir, Caner. 2009. “Policy Entrepreneurship and Institutional Change: Multilevel Governance of Central Banking Reform.” Governance 22(4): 571–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandelow, Nils C., Vogeler, Colette S., Hornung, Johanna, Kuhlmann, Johanna, and Heidrich, Sebastian. 2017. “Learning as a Necessary but Not Sufficient Condition for Major Health Policy Change: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis Combining ACF and MSF.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 21(2): 167–182.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R., Breunig, Christian, Green-Pedersen, Christoffer, et al. 2009. “Punctuated Equilibrium in Comparative Perspective.” American Journal of Political Science 53(3): 603–620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R., Jones, Bryan D. and Mortensen, Peter B.. 2023. “Punctuated Equilibrium Theory: Explaining Stability and Change in Public Policymaking.” In Weible, Christopher M., ed., Theories of the Policy Process. 5th ed., New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Béland, Daniel, and Henry Cox, Robert. 2016. “Ideas as Coalition Magnets: Coalition Building, Policy Entrepreneurs, and Power Relations.” Journal of European Public Policy 23(3): 428–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Béland, Daniel, and Howlett, Michael. 2016. “The Role and Impact of the Multiple-Streams Approach in Comparative Policy Analysis.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 18(3): 221–227.Google Scholar
Bell, Michelle, Cifuentes, Luis A., Davis, Devra L., et al. 2011. “Environmental Health Indicators and a Case Study of Air Pollution in Latin American Cities.” Environmental Research 111(1): 57–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birkland, Thomas A. 1997. After Disaster: Agenda Setting, Public Policy, and Focusing Events. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Birkland, Thomas. 2004. “‘The World Changed Today’: Agenda-Setting and Policy Change in the Wake of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks.” Review of Policy Research 21(2): 179–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, Sonja. 2018. “The Multiple-Streams Framework and Knowledge Utilization: Argumentative Couplings of Problem, Policy, and Politics Issues.” European Policy Analysis 4(1): 94–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolukbasi, H. Tolga, and Yıldırım, Deniz. 2022. “Institutions in the Politics of Policy Change: Who Can Play, How They Play in Multiple Streams.” Journal of Public Policy 42(3): 509–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bossert, Thomas J., and Dintrans, Pablo Villalobos. 2020. “Health Reform in the Midst of a Social and Political Crisis in Chile, 2019–2020.” Health Systems & Reform 6(1): e1789031-1– e1789031-10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boswell, Christina, and Rodrigues, Eugénia. 2016. “Policies, Politics, and Organizational Problems: Multiple Streams and the Implementation of Targets in UK Government.” Policy & Politics 44(4): 507–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M., and Jones, Bradford S.. 1997. “Time is of the Essence: Event History Models in Political Science.” American Journal of Political Science 41(4): 1414–1461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brady, Henry E., and Collier, David (eds.). 2010. Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. 2nd expanded ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Brunner, Steffen. 2008. “Understanding Policy Change: Multiple Streams and Emission Trading in Germany.” Global Environmental Change 18(3): 501–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Budge, Ian, and Keman, Hans. 1990. Parties and Democracy: Coalition Formation and Government Functioning in Twenty States. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
de Mesquita, Bueno, Bruce, Alastair Smith, Siverson, Randolph M. and Morrow, James D.. 2003. The Logic of Political Survival. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bundgaard, Ulrik, and Vrangbæk, Karsten. 2007. “Reform by Coincidence? Explaining the Policy Process of Structural Reform in Denmark.” Scandinavian Political Studies 30(4): 491–520.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cairney, Paul. 2018. “Three Habits of Successful Policy Entrepreneurs.” Policy and Politics 46(2): 199–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, Cairney, and Jones, Michael D.. 2016. “Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Approach: What is the Empirical Impact of this Universal Theory?” Policy Studies Journal 44(1): 37–58.Google Scholar
Capano, Giliberto, and Galanti, Maria Tullia. 2021. “From Policy entrepreneurs to Policy Entrepreneurship: Actors and Actions in Public Policy Innovation.” Policy & Politics 49(3): 321–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carriedo, Angela, Lock, Karen, and Hawkins, Benjamin. 2020. “Policy Process and Non-State Actors’ Influence On The 2014 Mexican Soda Tax.” Health Policy and Planning 35(8): 941–952.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carter, Neil, and Childs, Mike. 2017. “Friends of the Earth as a Policy Entrepreneur: ‘The Big Ask’ Campaign for a UK Climate Change Act.” Environmental Politics 27(6): 994–1013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, Ralph G., and Scott, James M.. 2010. “Understanding Congressional Foreign Policy Innovators: Mapping Entrepreneurs and Their Strategies.” The Social Science Journal 47(2): 418–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceccoli, Stephen, and Andy Chen, Xinran. 2023. “Subnational Policy Windows: Shanghai’s Grid Screening Policy.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut, and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Steams Framework. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, pp. 265–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheibub, José Antonio, Gandhi, Jennifer, and Raymond Vreeland, James. 2010. Democracy and Dictatorship Revisited. Public Choice 143(1): 67–101CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, Michael D., March, James G., and Olsen, Johan P.. 1972. “A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice.” Administrative Science Quarterly 17(1): 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collier, David. 2011. “Understanding Process Tracing.” PS: Political Science & Politics 44: 823–830.Google Scholar
Collier, David and Mahon, James E. Jr. 1993. “Conceptual ‘Stretching’ Revisited: Adapting Categories in Comparative Analysis.” American Political Science Review 87(4): 845–855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, Mary Elizabeth. 2018. “Comparative Analysis of State Policymaking in Child Welfare: Explaining Policy Choices.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 20(4): 370–386.Google Scholar
Copeland, Paul, and James, Scott. 2014. “Policy Windows, Ambiguity and Commission Entrepreneurship: Explaining the Relaunch of the European Union’s Economic Agenda.” Journal of European Public Policy 21: 1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, Jeffrey J., and Rinfret, Sara R.. 2013. “The Environmental Protection Agency Regulates Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Is Anyone Paying Attentions?” Review of Policy Research 30(3): 263–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, Rebekah L., Felix, Holly C., Walker, Jada F., and Phillips, Martha. 2010. “Public Health Professionals as Policy Entrepreneurs: Arkansas’s Childhood Obesity Policy Experience.” American Journal of Public Health 100(11): 2047–2052.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Amy, Cummings, Strunk, Katharine O., and De Voto, Craig. 2023. “‘A Lot of States were Doing it’: The Development of Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law.” Journal of Educational Change 24: 107–132.Google Scholar
Conceição, da, Rosa, Hugo, Börner, Jan, and Wunder, Sven. 2015. “Why were Upscaled Incentive Programs for Forest Conservation Adopted? Comparing Policy Choices in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.” Ecosystem Services 16: 243–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Araújo, , Resende, Fábio, and Macedo e Silva Calazans, Dinara Leslye. 2020. “Management of Food Security Actions during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Brazilian Journal of Public Administration 54(4): 1123–113.Google Scholar
DeLeo, Rob A. 2018. “Indicators, Agendas, and Streams: Analysing the Politics of Preparedness.” Policy & Politics 46(1): 27–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeLeo, Rob A. and Duarte, Alex. 2022. “Does Data Drive Policymaking? A Multiple Streams Perspective on the Relationship Between Indicators and Agenda Setting.” Policy Studies Journal 50(3): 701–724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeLeo, Rob A., Taylor, Kristin, Crow, Deserai A., and Birkland, Thomas. 2022. “During Disaster: Refining the Concept of Focusing Events to Better Explain Long-Duration Crises.” International Review of Public Policy 3(1): 5–28.Google Scholar
Derwort, Pim, Jager, Nicolas, and Newig, Jens. 2021. “How to Explain Major Policy Change Towards Sustainability? Bringing Together the Multiple Streams Framework and the Multilevel Perspective on Socio-Technical Transitions to Explore the German ‘Energiewende’.” Policy Studies Journal 50(3): 671–699.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Dana A. 2021. “Multiple Partial Couplings in the Multiple Streams Framework: The Case of Extreme Weather and Climate Change Adaptation.” Policy Studies Journal 49(1): 164–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Dana A., and Blum, Sonja. 2023. The Beating Heart of the MSF: Coupling as a Process. In Nikolaos Zahariadis, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 82–103.Google Scholar
Dolowitz, David P., and Marsh, David. 2000. “Learning from Abroad: The Role of Policy Transfer in Contemporary Policy Making.” Governance 13(1): 5–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durant, Robert F., and Diehl, Paul F.. 1989. “Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy: Lessons from the U.S. Foreign Policy Arena.” Journal of Public Policy 9(2): 179–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckersley, Peter, and Lakoma, Katarzyna. 2021. “Straddling Multiple Streams: Focusing Events, Policy Entrepreneurs and Problem Brokers in the Governance of English Fire and Rescue Services.” Policy Studies 43(5): 1001–1020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engl, Alice and Evrard, Estelle. 2020. “Agenda-Setting Dynamics in the Post-2020 Cohesion Policy Reform: The Pathway towards the European Cross-Border Mechanism as Possible Policy Change.” Journal of European Integration 42(7): 917–935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engler, Fabian and Herweg, Nicole, 2019. “Of Barriers to Entry for Medium- and Large-n Multiple Streams Applications: Methodologic and Conceptual Considerations.” Policy Studies Journal 47(4): 905–926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Exworthy, Mark, and Powell, Martin. 2004. “Big Windows and Little Windows: Implementation in the ‘Congested State’.” Public Administration 102(12): 2294–2302.Google Scholar
Faling, Marijn, and Biesbroek, Robbert. 2019. “Cross-Boundary Policy Entrepreneurship for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Kenya.” Policy Sciences 52: 525–547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fastenrath, Florian, and Marx, Paul. 2023. “The role of Preference Formation and Perception in Unequal Representation. Combined Evidence from Elite Interviews and Focus Groups in Germany.” Working Paper No. 26. www.uni-due.de/imperia/md/content/soziooekonomie/ifsowp26_fastenrathmarx2023.pdf (last accessed 17 October 2023).Google Scholar
Fischer, Sara, and Strandberg-Larsen, Martin. 2016. “Power and Agenda-Setting in Tanzanian Health Policy: An Analysis of Stakeholder Perspectives.” International Journal of Health Policy and Management 5(6): 355–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fowler, Luke. 2019. “Problems, Politics, and Policy Streams in Policy Implementation.” Governance 32(3): 403–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, Luke 2022. “Using the Multiple Streams Framework to Connect Policy Adoption to Implementation.” Policy Studies Journal 50(3): 615–639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, Luke 2023. Democratic Policy Implementation in an Ambiguous World. Albany: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Geddes, Barbara, Wright, Joseph, and Frantz, Erica. 2014. “Autocratic Breakdown and Regime Transitions: A New Data Set.” Perspectives on Politics 12(2): 313–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerring, Jason. 2017. Case Study Research. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Geva-May, Iris. 2004. “Riding the Wave of Opportunity: Termination in Public Policy.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 14: 309–333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goyal, Nihit. 2022. “Policy Diffusion Through Multiple Streams: The (Non-)Adoption of Energy Conservation Building Code in India.” Policy Studies Journal 50(3): 641–669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goyal, Nihit, Howlett, Michael, and Chindarkar, Namrata. 2020. “Who Coupled which Stream(s)? Policy Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Energy-Water Nexus in Gujarat, India.” Public Administration and Development 40(1): 49–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christoffer, Green-Pedersen, and Mortensen, Peter B.. 2010. “Who Sets the Agenda and Who Responds to it in the Danish Parliament? A New Model of Issue Competition and Agenda-Setting.” European Journal of Political Research 49(2): 257–281.Google Scholar
Hahnkamper-Vandenbulcke, Nora. 2022. Review Clauses in EU Legislation Adopted during the First Half of the Ninth Parliamentary Term (2019–2024): A Rolling Check-List. Brussels: European Union, www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2022/734675/EPRS_STU(2022)734675_EN.pdf (last accessed 01 June 2023).Google Scholar
Harris, Mike, and McCue, Peter. 2023. “Pop-Up Cycleways: How a COVID-19 ‘Policy Window’ Changed the Relationship Between Urban Planning, Transport, and Health in Sydney, Australia.” Journal of the American Planning Association 89(2): 240–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassanin, Ahmed, Kamel, Serageldin, Waked, Imam, and Fort, Meredith. 2021. “Egypt’s Ambitious Strategy to Eliminate Hepatitis C Virus: A Case Study.” Global Health: Science and Practice 9(1): 187–200.Google ScholarPubMed
Heaphy, Janina. (2002). British counterterrorism, the international prohibition of torture, and the multiple streams framework.” Policy & Politics 50(2): 225–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herweg, Nicole. 2013. “Der Multiple-Streams-Ansatz – ein Ansatz, dessen Zeit gekommen ist?” Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft 7: 321–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herweg, Nicole 2016. “Clarifying the Concept of Policy-Communities in the Multiple-Streams Framework.” In Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Rüb, Friedbert W., eds., Decision-Making under Ambiguity and Time Constraints: Assessing the Multiple-Streams Framework. Colchester: ECPR Press, 125–145.Google Scholar
Herweg, Nicole 2017. European Union Policy-Making: The Regulatory Shift in Natural Gas Market Policy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herweg, Nicole, Huß, Christian, and Zohlnhöfer, Reimut. 2015. “Straightening the Three Streams: Theorizing Extensions of the Multiple Streams Framework.” European Journal of Political Research 54(3): 435–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herweg, Nicole, Zahariadis, Nikolaos, and Zohlnhöfer, Reimut. 2022. “Travelling Far and Wide? Applying the Multiple Streams Framework to Policy-Making in Autocracies.” Politische Vierteljahresschrift/German Political Science Quarterly 63: 203–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herweg, Nicole, Zahariadis, Nikolaos, and Zohlnhöfer, Reimut. 2023. “The Multiple Streams Framework: Foundations, Refinements and Empirical Applications.” In Weible, Christopher M., ed., Theories of the Policy Process, 5th ed. New York: Routledge, 29–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herweg, Nicole, and Zahariadis, Nikolaos. 2018. “The Multiple Streams Approach.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos and Buonanno, Laurie eds., The Routledge Handbook of European Public Policy. New York: Routledge, 32–41.Google Scholar
Herweg, Nicole, and Zohlnhöfer, Reimut. 2022. “Analyzing EU Policy Processes Applying the Multiple Streams Framework.” In Graziano, Paolo and Tosun, Jale, eds., Elgar Encyclopedia of European Union Public Policy. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 485–494.Google Scholar
Herweg, Nicole, and Zohlnhöfer., Reimut 2023. “Multiple Streams in Policy Implementation.” In Sager, Fritz, Mavrot, Celine and Keiser, Lael R., eds., Handbook of Public Policy Implementation. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Hoefer, Richard. 2022. “The Multiple Streams Framework: Understanding and Applying the Problems, Policies, and Politics Approach.” Journal of Policy Practice and Research 3: 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howlett, Michael. 2019. “Moving Policy Implementation Theory Forward.” Public Policy and Administration 34(4): 405–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howlett, Michael, McConnell, Allan, and Perl, Anthony. 2015. “Streams and Stages: Reconciling Kingdon and Policy Process Theory.” European Journal of Political Research 54: 419–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jakobsson, Elin. 2021. “How Climate-Induced Migration Entered the UN Policy Agenda in 2007–2010: A Multiple Streams Assessment.” Politics and Governance 9(4): 16–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnstone, Rachael. 2018. “Explaining Abortion Policy Developments in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.” Journal of Canadian Studies 52(3): 765–784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, Bryan D., Epp, Derek A., and Baumgartner, Frank R.. 2019. “Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Policy Punctuations.” International Review of Public Policy 1(1): 7–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, Michael D., Peterson, Holly L., Pierce, Jonathan J., et al. 2016. “A River Runs Through It: A Multiple Streams Meta-Review.” Policy Studies Journal 44(1): 13–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kagan, Jennifer A. 2019. “Multiple Streams in Hawaii: How the Aloha State Adopted a 100% Renewable Portfolio Standard.” Review of Policy Research 36(2): 217–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaunert, Christian, and Léonard, Sarah. 2019. “The European Union’s Response to the CBRN Terrorist Threat: A Multiple Streams Approach.” Politique Européenne 65(3): 148–177.Google Scholar
Keeler, John T. S. 1993. “Opening the Window for Reform. Mandates, Crises, and Extraordinary Policymaking.” Comparative Political Studies 25: 433–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingdon, John W. 2003[1984]. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational.Google Scholar
Koebele, Elizabeth. 2021. “When Multiple Streams Make a River: Analyzing Collaborative Policymaking Institutions using the Multiple Streams Framework.” Policy Sciences 54: 609–628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knaggård, Åsa. 2015. “The Multiple Streams Framework and the Problem Broker.” European Journal of Political Research 54 (3): 450–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knaggård, Åsa, and Hildingsson, Roger. 2023. “Multilevel Influence and Interaction in the MSF: A Conceptual Map.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut, and Petridou, Evangelia eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 62–81.Google Scholar
Kristiansen, Elsa and Houlihan, Barrie. 2015. “Developing Young Athletes: The Role of Private Sport schools in the Norwegian Sport System.” International Review of the Sociology of Sport 52(4): 447–469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Chun, and Jayakar, Krishna. 2012. “The Evolution of Telecommunications Policy-Making: Comparative Analysis of China and India.” Telecommunications Policy 36: 13–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovell, Heather. 2016. “The Role of International Policy Transfer within the Multiple Streams Approach: The Case of Smart Electricity Metering in Australia.” Public Administration 94: 754–768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintrom, Michael. 2019. Policy Entrepreneurs and Dynamic Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintrom, Michael, and Norman, Phillipa. 2009. “Policy Entrepreneurship and Policy Change.” Policy Studies Journal 37(4): 649–667.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Möck, Malte, Vogeler, Colette, Bandelow, Nils, and Hornung, Johanna. 2023. “Relational Coupling of Multiple Streams: The Case of COVID-19 Infections in German Abattoirs.” Policy Studies Journal 51(2): 351–374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moghadam, Telma Zahirian, Raeissi, Pouran, and Jafari-Sirizi, Mehdi. 2019. “Analysis of the Health Sector Evolution Plan from the Perspective of Equity in Healthcare Financing: A Multiple Streams Model.” International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare 12(2): 124–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mucciaroni, Gary. 2013. “The Garbage Can Model and the Study of the Policy-Making Process.” In Araral, Eduardo, Fritzen, Scott, Howlett, Michael, Ramesh, M., and Wu, Xun, eds., The Routledge Handbook of Public Policy. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Münter, Michael. 2005. Verfassungsreform im Einheitsstaat. Die Politik der Dezentralisierung in Großbritannien. Wiesbaden: VS.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nohrstedt, Daniel, Ingold, Karin, Weible, Christopher M., et al. 2023. “The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Progress and Emerging Areas.” In Weible, Christopher M., ed., Theories of the Policy Process, 5th ed. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Novotný, Vilém, Satoh, Keiichi, and Nagel, Melanie. 2021. “Refining the Multiple Stream’s Framework’s Integration Concept: Renewable Energy Policy and Ecological Modernization in Germany and Japan in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 23(3): 291–309.Google Scholar
O’Donovan, Kristin. 2017. “An Assessment of Aggregate Focusing Events, Disaster Experience, and Policy Change.” Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy 8(3): 201–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Neill, Brenda, Kapoor, Taruneek, and McLaren, Lindsay. 2019. “Politics, Science, and Termination: A Case Study of Water Fluoridation Policy in Calgary in 2011.” Review of Policy Research 36(1): 99–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pack, Simon M., and Hedlund, David P.. 2020. “Inclusion of Electronic Sports in the Olympic Games for the Right (or Wrong) Reasons.” International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 12(3): 485–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petridou, Evangelia, and Mintrom, Michael. 2021. “A Research Agenda for the Study of Policy Entrepreneurs.” Policy Studies Journal 49(4): 943–967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petridou, Evangelia, Johansson, Roine, Eriksson, Kerstin, Alirani, Gertrud, and Zahariadis, Nikolaos. 2023. “Theorizing Reactive Policy Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Swedish Local Emergency Management.” Policy Studies Journal, https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierson, Paul. 2003. “Big, Slow-Moving, and … Invisible: Macrosocial Processes in the Study of Comparative Politics.” In Mahoney, James and Rueschemeyer, Dietrich, eds., Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 177–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potrafke, Niklas. 2017. “Partisan Politics: The Empirical Evidence from OECD Panel Studies.” Journal of Comparative Economics 45(4): 712–750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawat, Pragati, and Charles Morris, John. 2016. “Kingdon’s ‘Streams’ Model at Thirty: Still Relevant in the 21st Century?” Politics & Policy 44: 608–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richardson, Jeremy. 1996. “Policymaking in the EU: Interests, Ideas and Garbage Cans of Primeval Soup.” In Richardson, Jeremy, ed., European Union: Power and Policymaking. London: Routledge, 3–30.Google Scholar
Ridde, Valéry. 2009. “Policy Implementation in an African State: An Extension of Kingdon’s Multiple-Streams Approach.” Public Administration 87(4): 938–954.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rietig, Katharina. 2021. “Multilevel Reinforcing Dynamics: Global Climate Governance and European Renewable Energy Policy.” Public Administration 99(1): 55–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rietig, Katharina. 2023. “The Multiple Streams Framework and Multilevel Reinforcing Dynamics: The Case of European and International Climate Policy.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 285–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, Nancy C., and King, Paula J.. 1991. “Policy Entrepreneurs: Their Activity Structure and Function in the Policy Process.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 1: 147–175.Google Scholar
Rüb, Friedbert W. 2014. “Multiple-Streams-Ansatz: Grundlagen, Probleme und Kritik.” In Schubert, Klaus and Bandelow, Nils C., eds., Lehrbuch der Politikfeldanalyse. München: Oldenbourg, 373–406.Google Scholar
Ryan, Daniel, and Micozzi, Marianna. 2021. “The Politics of Climate Policy Innovation: The Case of the Argentine Carbon Tax.” Environmental Politics 7: 1155–1173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sager, Fritz, Rüefli, Christian, and Thomann, Eva. 2019. “Fixing Federal Faults. Complementary Member State Policies in Swiss Health Care Policy.” International Review of Public Policy 1(2): 147–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sager, Fritz, and Thomann, Eva. 2017. “Multiple Streams in Member State Implementation: Politics, Problem Construction and Policy Paths in Swiss Asylum Policy.” Journal of Public Policy 37(3): 287–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanjurjo, Diego. 2020a. Gun Control Policies in Latin America. Cham: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanjurjo, Diego 2020b. “Taking the Multiple Streams Framework for a Walk in Latin America.” Policy Sciences 53(1): 205–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanjurjo, Diego 2023. “More Guns, Less Violence? Putting the Multiple Streams Framework to the Test against Bolsonaro’s Gun Liberalization Agenda.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 160–179.Google Scholar
Sartori, Giovanni. 1970. “Concept Misinformation in Comparative Politics.” The American Political Science Review 64(4): 1033–1053.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saurugger, Sabine, and Terpan, Fabien. 2016. “Do Crises Lead to Policy Change? The Multiple Streams Framework and the European Union’s Economic Governance Instruments.” Policy Sciences 49: 33–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, Carsten Q., and Wagemann, Claudius. 2012. Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences: A Guide to Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schön-Quinlivan, Emmanuelle, and Scipioni, Marco. 2017. “The Commission as Policy Entrepreneur in European Economic Governance: A Comparative Multiple Streams Analysis of the 2005 and 2011 Reform of the Stability and Growth Pact.” Journal of European Public Policy 24(8): 1172–1190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schührer, Sabine. 2018. “Identifying Policy Entrepreneurs of Public Sector Accounting Agenda Setting in Australia.” Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 31(4): 1067–1097.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuler, Paul. 2020. “Position Taking or Position Ducking? A Theory of Public Debate in Single-Party Legislatures.” Comparative Political Studies 53(9): 1493–1524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seawright, Jason, and Gerring, John. 2008. “Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research: A Menu of Qualitative and Quantitative Options.” Political Research Quarterly 61(2): 294–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sevenans, Julie. 2018. “One Concept, Many Interpretations: The Media’s Causal Roles in Political Agenda-Setting Processes.” European Political Science Review 10(2): 245–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shephard, Daniel D., Ellersiek, Anne, Meuer, Johannes, et al. 2021. “Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Approach in New Political Contexts: Consolidation, Configuration, and New Findings.” Governance 34(2): 523–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sieleunou, Isidore, Turcotte-Tremblay, Anne-Marie, Taptué Fotso, Jean-Claude, et al. 2017. “Setting Performance-Based Financing in the Health Sector Agenda: A Case Study in Cameroon.” Globalization and Health 13(52): 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-017-0288-7.Google ScholarPubMed
Smith, Verna, and Cumming, Jackie. 2017. “Implementing Pay-for-Performance in Primary Health Care: The role of Institutional Entrepreneurs.” Policy and Society 36(4): 523–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soroka, Stuart, and Wlezien, Christopher. 2019. “Tracking the Coverage of Public Policy in Mass Media.” Policy Studies Journal 47(2): 471–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spohr, Florian. 2016. “Explaining Path Dependency and Deviation by Combing Multiple Streams Framework and Historical Institutionalism: A Comparative Analysis of German and Swedish Labor Market Policies.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 18: 257–272.Google Scholar
Spognardi, Andrés. 2020. “Cooperatives as a Buffer Between Capitalism’s Conflicting Classes: The Pioneering Case of the Portuguese Cooperative Societies Act.” Journal of Policy History 32(4): 439–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ssengooba, Freddie, Ssennyonjo, Aloysius, Musila, Timothy, and Ekirapa-Kirachoa, Elizabeth. 2021. “Momentum for Policy Change: Alternative Explanations for the Increased Interest in Results-Based Financing in Uganda.” Global Health Action 14(1): 1948672. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2021.1948672.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Staff, Helge. 2020. The Political Economy of Private Security. Wien/Zürich: Lit.Google Scholar
Tanaka, Yugo, Chapman, Andrew, Tezuka, Tetsuo, and Sakurai, Shigeki. 2020. “Putting the Process into the Policy Mix: Simulating Policy Design for Energy and Electricity Transitions in Japan.” Energy Research and Social Science 70: 463–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Kristin, Zarb, Stephanie, and Jeschke, Nathan. 2021. “Ambiguity, Uncertainty and Implementation.” International Review of Public Policy 3(1): 100–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Kristin, DeLeo, Rob A., Zarb, Stephanie, Jeschke, Nathan, and Birkland, Thomas A.. 2023. “Subnational Focusing Events and Agenda Change: The Case of Toxic Algae Bloom and Contaminated Drinking Water in Toledo, Ohio.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut, and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Steams Framework. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 222–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tembo, Sydney and Lim, Seunghoo. 2022. “Agenda Setting for the 20% Mandatory Subcontracting Policy in Zambia’s Construction Sector: The Multiple-Streams Framework.” Public Works Management & Policy 28(2): 215–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Töller, Annette Elisabeth. 2023. “The Challenge of Applying the Multiple Streams Framework to Non-Decisions and Negative Decisions.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut, and Petridou, Evangelia, eds. A Modern Guide to the Multiple Steams Framework. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 305–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tracy, Sarah J. 2019. Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact 2nd Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Travis, Rick, and Zahariadis, Nikolaos. 2002. “A Multiple Streams Model of U.S. Foreign Aid Policy.” Policy Studies Journal 30(4): 495–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
True, Jacqui, and Mintrom, Michael. 2001. “Transnational Networks and Policy Diffusion: The Case of Gender Mainstreaming.” International Studies Quarterly 45(1): 27–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsebelis, George, .2002. Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turaga, Rama Mohana R., and Mittal, Harsh. 2023. “The Policy Process of Adopting Environmental Standards for Coal Plants in India: Accommodating Transnational Politics in the Multiple Streams Framework.” Policy & Politics 51(2): 334–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tunstall, Ashley M., Weible, Christopher M., Tomsich, Elizabeth A., and Gover, Angela R.. 2015. “Understanding Policy Reform in Colorado’s Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Standards.” Social Policy & Administration 50(5): 580–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turnhout, Esther, Hisschemöller, Matthijs, and Eijsackers, Herman. 2007. “Ecological Indicators: Between the Two Fires of Science and Policy.” Ecological Indicators 7: 215–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van den Dool, Annemieke. 2023a. “The Multiple Streams Framework in an Autocracy: China’s Long-Awaited Soil Pollution Law.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 200–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van den Dool, Annemieke. 2023b. “The Multiple Streams Framework in a Nondemocracy: The Infeasibility of a National Ban on Live Poultry Sales in China.” Policy Studies Journal 51(2): 327–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venters, Monoka, Hauptli, Meghan V., and Cohen-Vogel, Lora. 2012. “Federal Solutions to School Fiscal Crises: Lessons from Nixon’s Failed National Sales Tax for Education.” Educational Policy 26(1): 35–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wahman, Michael, Teorell, Jan, and Hadenius, Axel. 2013. “Authoritarian Regime Types Revisited: Updated Data in Comparative Perspective.” Contemporary Politics 19(1): 19–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walgrave, Stefaan, Jansen, Arno, Sevenans, Julie, et al. 2023. “Inaccurate Politicians: Elected Representatives’ Estimations of Public Opinion in Four Countries.” Journal of Politics 85: 209–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Huihui, Chukwuma, Adanna, Comsa, Radu, et al. 2021. “Generating Political Priority for Primary Health Care Reform in Romania.” Health Systems & Reform 7(2): e1898187-1–e1898187-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2021.1898187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weible, Christopher, and Workman, Samuel, eds. 2022. Methods of the Policy Process. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenzelburger, Georg, and Hartmann, Kathrin. 2022. “Policy Formation, Termination and the Multiple Streams Framework: The Case of Introducing and Abolishing Automated University Admission in France.” Policy Studies 43(5): 1075–1095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenzelburger, Georg, and Thurm, Stefanie. 2023. “Policy Termination Meets Multiple Streams, in: A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 43–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michelle, Wolfe, Jones, Bryan D., and Baumgartner, Frank R.. 2013. “A Failure to Communicate: Agenda Setting in Media and Policy Studies.” Political Communication 30(2): 175–192.Google Scholar
Wu, Yipin. 2020. “Dynamics of Policy Change in Authoritarian Countries: A Multiple-Case Study on China.” Journal of Public Policy 40: 236–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yin, Robert K. 2018. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos. 1992. “To Sell or Not to Sell? Telecommunications Policy in Britain and France.” Journal of Public Policy 12(4): 355–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 1995. Markets, States, and Public Policy: Privatization in Britain and France. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 1996. “Selling British Rail: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?” Comparative Political Studies 29(4): 400–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 1999. “Ambiguity, Time, and Multiple Streams.” In Sabatier, Paul, ed., Theories of the Policy Process. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 73–93.Google Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 2003. Ambiguity & Choice in Public Policy: Political Decision making in Modern Democracies. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 2008. “Ambiguity and Choice in European Public Policy.” Journal of European Public Policy 15(4): 514–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 2013. “Leading Reform Amidst Transboundary Crises: Lessons from Greece.” Public Administration 91(3): 648–662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 2015. “The Shield of Heracles: Multiple Streams and the Emotional Endowment Effect.” European Journal of Political Research 54: 466–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos 2014. “Ambiguity and Multiple Streams.” In Sabatier, Paul, and Weible, Christopher M., eds., Theories of the Policy Process. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 25–58.Google Scholar
Nikolaos, Zahariadis, and Allen, Christopher S.. 1995. “Ideas, Networks, and Policy Streams: Privatization in Britain and Germany.” Policy Studies Review 14(1/2): 71–98.Google Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos, and Exadaktylos, Theofanis. 2016. “Policies that Succeed and Programs that Fail: Ambiguity, Conflict, and Crisis in Greek Higher Education.” Policy Studies Journal 44(1): 59–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos, and Petridou, Evangelia. 2023. “Multiple Streams, Policy Implementation, and the Greek Refugee Crisis.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 144–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zohlnhöfer, Reimut. 2009. “How Politics Matter When Policies Change: Understanding Policy Change as a Political Problem.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 11: 97–115.Google Scholar
Zohlnhöfer, Reimut 2016. “Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle: Explaining German Labor Market Reforms with a Modified Multiple-Streams Approach.” Policy Studies Journal 44: 83–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zohlnhöfer, Reimut 2023. “How Far does a Policy Change Go? Explaining the Scope of Reforms with the Multiple Streams Framework.” In Zahariadis, Nikolaos, Herweg, Nicole, Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Petridou, Evangelia, eds., A Modern Guide to the Multiple Streams Framework. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 25–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zohlnhöfer, Reimut, Herweg, Nicole, and Huß, Christian. 2016. “Bringing Formal Political Institutions into the Multiple Streams Framework: An Analytical Proposal for Comparative Policy Analysis.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 18: 243–256.Google Scholar
Zohlnhöfer, Reimut, and Huß, Christian. 2016. “How Well Does the Multiple-Streams Framework Travel? Evidence from German Case Studies.” In Zohlnhöfer, Reimut and Rüb, Friedbert W., eds., Decision-Making under Ambiguity and Time Constraints: Assessing the Multiple-Streams Framework. Colchester: ECPR Press, 169–188.Google Scholar
Zohlnhöfer, Reimut, Herweg, Nicole, and Zahariadis, Nikolaos. 2022. “How to Conduct a Multiple Streams Study.” In Weible, Christopher and Workman, Samuel, eds., Methods of the Policy Process. London: Routledge, 23–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Multiple Streams and Policy Ambiguity
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Multiple Streams and Policy Ambiguity
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Multiple Streams and Policy Ambiguity
Available formats
×