In recent years a set of radical new approaches to public policy has been developing. Frank Fischer brings together this new work and critically examines it. He describes the theoretical, methodological and political requirements and implications of this "post-empiricist" approach to public policy.

Introduction ; 1. Making Social Science Relevant: Policy Inquiry in Critical Perspective ; PUBLIC POLICY AND THE DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY ; 2. Constructing Policy Theory: Ideas and Discourse ; 3. Public Policy and Discourse Construct: Multiple Realities and Interpretative Understanding ; PUBLIC POLICY AND DISCURSIVE POLITICS ; 4. Public Policy and Discursive Analysis ; 5. Policy Discourse versus Advocacy Coalitions: Interpreting Policy Change and Learning ; DISCURSIVE POLICY INQUIRY: RESTITUTING EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS ; 6. Postempiricist Foundations: Social Constructionism and Practical Discourse ; 7. Interpreting Public Policy: Analytical and Methodological Perspectives ; 8. Public Policy as Narrative: Stories, Frames, and Metanarratives ; 9. The Argumentative Turn: Policy Analysis as Discursive Practice ; DELIBERATIVE GOVERNANCE ; 10. Citizens and Experts: Democratizing Policy Deliberations ; 11. The Deliberative Policy Analyst: Theoretical Issues and Practical Challenges