Integrative Political Strategies — Conceptualizing and Analyzing a New Type of Policy Field
possible solutions . Their strategies of field delimitation orient toward the problem characteristics and the requirements of adequate problem solving .
Third , to realize these basic orientations , strategic actors adopt various practices . These practices can be directed at either creating and developing new or dissolving established boundaries , rendering them permeable or even unstable . They can also be oriented toward moving boundaries ( i . e ., cutting out parts of a policy field and reframing them as elements of a new policy ) or strengthening or defending established boundaries . The diverse strategic practices may refer to substantial , social , spatial , or temporal boundaries of policies ( see Section 4.1 ). Substantial boundary work is about redefining or stabilizing the material and symbolic fundament of a policy ( e . g ., by means of resource distribution , reframing of problems , meaning , use of knowledge and expertise to ( re- ) configure the form and meaning of issues , etc .). Social boundary work involves creating or reshuffling actor constellations ( by means of coalition building , mobilization , or demobilization , and opening or closing existing arenas to certain actors ). Spatial boundary work deals with the spatial embedding of a policy and involves practices such as scaling an issue up or down within a multilevel system . Temporal boundary work entails defining and redefining the temporal parameters of policies by expanding or narrowing down the time horizon or the policy-specific temporal patterns .
Fourth , a strategic perspective focuses on the interplay of strategic actors with different orientations . This strategic interplay results from individual strategic practices that actors adopt when they follow their orientations . It consists of a temporarily stabilized pattern of boundary demarcations , representing a strategic equilibrium at a certain point in time . This can become manifest ( as in the case of many IPS ) in a formal strategy document or a certain organizational arrangement . However , following the perspective of political strategy , this equilibrium is subject to continued contestation . A pattern may break up and become fluid again . These dynamics of opening and closing lie at the heart of strategic analysis .
Overall , strategic analysis draws attention to the ways integrative – strategic policy fields are demarcated by means of strategic action . From the perspective of political strategy , the boundaries of integrative – strategic policy fields are not institutionally defined . Rather , they represent temporarily defined strategic equilibria resulting from the strategic interactions of multiple actors , who follow different strategic orientations and adopt various strategic practices of boundary work .
5 . Conclusion and Outlook
I
have started with the observation that policymakers are increasingly opting for ways of policymaking that fall under the IPS category . In asking how to understand and analyze these relatively new policy phenomena , I have aimed to contribute to the conceptual discussion about IPS and their analysis . To do so , I have reviewed the existing research on IPS and revealed several shortcomings in the current academic debate . I am especially concerned that there is no clear conceptual understanding of these new phenomena . In fact , IPS are conceptualized according
186