Linda F. Dennard, Ph.D
University College Cork
Department of Government
Director: ETHOS Project on Global Governance & Complexity
l.dennard@ucc.ie


Policy Analysis: Implications of the new sciences of complexity and governance


Short Abstract:
Over several centuries the science attributed to Descartes, Newton, and Bacon
became the mindset from which both the decision-making practices of modern
politics and administration were framed and citizen behaviour was judged. With
the emergence of the new sciences of complexity, another paradigm of
metaphors, concepts, and methodologies have begun to influence governance
practice.  Whether the new sciences will produce radically new forms of
governance practice or whether they will be used merely to reduce the risk
involved in governing complex societies within existing posivitist frameworks
remains to be seen. Some of the issues involved in creating a productive
dialogue between the sciences and social sciences are explored, with a
particular emphasis on the rapidly changing field of policy analysis.