Narrative Policy Analysis: Theory and Practice

by Emery Roe

Narrative Policy Analysis presents a powerful and original application of contemporary literary theory and policy analysis to many of today’s most urgent public policy issues. Emery Roe demonstrates across a wide array of case studies that structuralist and poststructuralist theories of narrative are exceptionally useful in evaluating difficult policy problems, understanding their implications, and in making effective policy recommendations.
Assuming no prior knowledge of literary theory, Roe introduces the theoretical concepts and terminology from literary analysis through an examination of the budget crises of national governments. With a focus on several particularly intractable issues in the areas of the environment, science, and technology, he then develops the methodology of narrative policy analysis by showing how conflicting policy "stories" often tell a more policy-relevant meta-narrative. He shows the advantage of this approach to reading and analyzing stories by examining the ways in which the views of participants unfold and are told in representative case studies involving the California Medfly crisis, toxic irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley, global warming, animal rights, the controversy over the burial remains of Native Americans, and Third World development strategies.
Presenting a bold innovation in the interdisciplinary methodology of the policy sciences, Narrative Policy Analysis brings the social sciences and humanities together to better address real-world problems of public policy—particularly those issues characterized by extreme uncertainty, complexity, and polarization—which, if not more effectively managed now, will plague us well into the next century.

Genres: Academic

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 1994

Reviews

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic thrust of this book is that public policy problems, which are often highly complex and uncertain, are ultimately grounded and driven by the different stories participants tell about the problem. Therefore, an analysis of the problem that hopes to inform policy making can and ought to borrow from literary criticism and its methods for analyzing stories since the policy problem itself is a collection of stories.

I read this book as preparation for writing my Ph.D. dissertation in public policy, as I am on the lookout for a theoretical and methodological grounding for my research. With the caveat that my committee will have its own input, I am fairly convinced that a narrative analysis is appropriate for my research.

That being said, do not expect that this book will give you all of the information you need to begin a narrative analysis. It is a doorway that only scratches the surface. Essentially, I used it as a test-case--let me see what this approach is all about before I go off and waste my time reading more about this methodology. At times, this book is hard to follow and you're not exactly sure where one step in the author's method ends and the next begins. Of course, drawing heavily as it does from literary analysis, this isn't necessarily a methodological problem as it is a reader's problem in trying to figure out how to do what the author is demonstrating.

With all that, this book and its author are essentially the foundations upon which narrative policy analysis have been built. That's why I started with it. I wasn't sure whether to give it a three or a four. Ultimately, the ideas are a four or five but the presentation and clarity bring the overall performance down to a three. That's not a reflection on the usefulness of the book but a judgment about overall quality and approachability.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The vocabulary was a bit complex and new to me but overall this will be an excellent tool for my research.