European Policy Analysis Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2016 | Page 5

European Policy Analysis - Volume 2, Number 1 - Spring 2016

Interlacing multiple networks with multiple streams Evelyne de Leeuw (Uo New South
Wales), Marjan Hoeijmakers (Public Health Limburg, The Netherlands), and Dorothee
T.I.M. Peter (Uo Amsterdam) “discovered that dynamic interactions between actors in the
different (policy, problem, and politics) streams … produce different network configurations
in each stream.” They “therefore postulate that hybridization of policy network theory with
multiple streams theory would create a more powerful conceptual toolbox.” Moreover, they
put up “criticism that has been voiced of the stages heuristic and propose that a more useful
metaphor is that of juggling: policy processes may appear chaotic, but keen discipline,
coordination, and acuity are required for policy analysts to keep all balls in the air.”
The second new section of EPA: Why You Should Read My Book. The idea behind this is
that EPA would like to give selected authors or editors of exciting new books in the field of
public policy an opportunity to state in a few words why it should be read.
In this issue, we start this section with the book The European Public Servant: A Shared
Administrative Identity? by Patrick Overeem and Fritz Sager (eds.) and the book DecisionMaking Under Ambiguity and Time Constraints: Assessing the Multiple Streams Framework
by Friedbert Rüb and ReimutZohlnhöfer (eds.).
Last but not least, we editors have to thank—first of all our authors for their patience and
willingness to sometimes considerably revise and rework their contributions and, of course,
our many reviewers—sometimes three and more per contribution—which allow EPA to
meet the high publication standards and develop them further. Every second year, we will
express our gratitude by publishing the names.
Those who have had an opportunity to assemble highly complex products like academic
journals will know that even four editors are not enough to handle the work, to avoid or
resolve problems, and to keep the machine running. This is why we are particularly grateful
that Kate Backhaus (Uo Muenster) and Johanna Hornung (TUoBraunschweig) are with us
and—seemingly light handedly—handle the hard work.
April 2016

Nils C. Bandelow, Peter Biegelbauer, Fritz Sager, and Klaus Schubert

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