Relationality: The inner life of public policy

Abstract

Policy seems, at times, to follow a different logic than the official or codified prescription. The literature has, variously, attributed this to the complex workings of implementation, practice, or informal process. In this article, we work out an explicit generative theory for these phenomena, which is to locate the underlying logic within the working and reworking of relationships among policy actors. We use the term, relationality, to refer to this condition, where the relational co-constitutes policy alongside more formal processes of policymaking. We use the example of a recent initiative in Hong Kong to use a voucher instrument for service delivery for the elderly. We see how the relational lens helps us better describe the phenomenon of policy, as well as develop prescriptions for policy reform.