Explaining the Causes of Policy Innovation

Abstract

As the theories of IR suggest, the causes and factors of policy change can be multiple. This chapter applies the developed theoretical framework (Chapter 2) to the process of policy transformation (documented in Chapter 3). By revisiting each hypothesis separately, the chapter examines the causes of policy innovation at the UNDP across time and policy stages. The discussion reveals the ability of each theory to explain only certain elements of the policymaking process. Particular attention is paid to specific causal factors highlighted in the discussed theories. It demonstrates that the explanatory power of a constructivist argument dose not simply complement but subsumes and integrates the causal claims of other theories.