Anticipatory policymaking in global venues: Policy change, adaptation, and the UNFCCC. (September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: DeLeo, Rob A.
• Is Part Of: Futures. Volume 92(2017)
• Page Start: 39
• Page End: 47
• Publication Date: 2017-09
• Subjects: Policy change -- Anticipatory policymaking -- Climate change adaptation; Economic forecasting -- Periodicals; Technological forecasting -- Periodicals; Economic policy -- Periodicals; Prévision économique -- Périodiques; Prévision technologique -- Périodiques; Politique économique -- Périodiques; Economic forecasting; Economic policy; Technological forecasting; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 330.0112
• DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2016.09.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0016-3287

Abstract

Highlights: Anticipatory problems reach the policy agenda through an accumulation of indicators. Planning is central to the anticipatory policy design. Anticipatory policy debates often hinge on the degree of perceived social control. Certain government institutions are anticipatory by design. Abstract: The subfield of public policy depicts policymaking as reactive process wherein public officials respond to existing social problems. While this depiction holds true in many cases, it fails to account for instances where policy change occurs in anticipation of emerging threats or hazards. "Anticipatory problems" are projected to occur in the future, and it is the prospect of their occurring that generates policy debate. This paper examines the policymaking pattern engendered by anticipatory policy problems, highlighting the ways in which they challenge and support existing assumptions about the process of policy change. To illustrate this distinctive dynamic, this paper will present a case study examining the evolving debate over climate change adaptation policy within United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).