Policy Process Frameworks in Practice

There is a well-established tradition whereby “theories” are developed in the Global North, while scholars in the Global South are largely confined to applying them in empirical research. We hope that this volume will achieve its primary objective: to stimulate debate surrounding these theories and to contribute to greater analytical and methodological rigor within the frameworks currently available for public policy research. In doing so, we aim to refine analytical tools capable of providing causal explanations for the phenomena we observe through our own interpretive lenses. Our approach addresses three major concerns regarding the use of these frameworks: (1) the specific elements or mechanisms they propose for explaining the policymaking process; (2) their scope in terms of analytical and explanatory capacity across diverse contexts; and (3) the findings and key limitations that emerge from their application.

André Marenco is Full Professor at the Graduate Program in Public Policy of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology for Government Quality and Policies for Sustainable Development (INCT-QualiGov). He completed a senior internship at the Institut d’Études Politiques–Sciences Po/Paris, was a full member of the Technical-Scientific Council for Higher Education, and was the Political Science Area [Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)] coordinator. His work focuses on comparative political institutions, political reform, bureaucracies, and public policy.

Natália Sátyro is Full Professor of Political Science at Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, and Vice-Coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology for Government Quality and Policies for Sustainable Development (INCT-QualiGov). She is Convener of the International Political Science Association (2023–present) Research Committee on Welfare State and Developing Societies (RC39), the coordinator of the Inter-Institutional Centre for Policy Analyses (CIAPSoc-UFMG), and was the founder and the coordinator of Asociación Latinoamericana de Ciencia Política Public Policy Research Group (2013–2024).