time is running

It has again been many months since the last post here, and despite the fact that theory-building has to some extend been pushed onto to the backseat (at least in any direct, concretely manifested manner) due to more pragmatic, in-the-field research activities, a number of issues have emerged that will be reported here.

To start: It has become very clear that the moving-target quality of policy-making warrants specific attention. While any policy document has a prescriptive quality to it, ie. is meant to trigger certain developments or at least reactions, some documents seem to be little more than defensive instruments developed to essentially accomplish two things:

1. Fulfill a political promise that a certain measure would be taken by a specified time in regard to constructed problem or need

2. To provide a document that, while being broadly acceptable to the stakeholders involved in the issue, summarizes the questions at stake hinting in a certain direction without actually answering them.

Thus, such a document is meant to functionally clarifying a political issues in order to keep the drafting entity in business of coming up with follow-up documents and reports, thereby proving involvement and responsibility taken seriously (and hence proving its own relevance)