What a Political Scientist Can Tell a Policymaker about the Likelihood of Success or Failure

A political scientist can introduce a focus on politics into policy analysis. However, the pervasity of politics in policymaking defines one of the outer boundaries of policy analysis. Politicians tend to think about specific needs and how they may be furthered by concrete projects more than they tend to think about principles or empirical findings. The position of policy analysis in policymaking and program implementation is to be won in a competitive setting amid individuals with training in other professional specialties and politicians who may have to professional training. Where politics is pervasive, policy analysts must have a tolerance for ambiguity, obfuscation and frustration. Copyright 1992 by The Policy Studies Organization.