Opening Policymaking

The first chapter outlines the concepts of policy and policymaking, distinguishing them from politics and presenting the evolution of the policy concept in the twentieth century. Various approaches to policymaking are presented, including the positivist approach, according to which public affairs are governed in a rational-comprehensive manner. An alternative is the post-positivist approach, eliminating the illusion of certainty and acknowledging the existence of divergent opinions or viewpoints. Then, the method of analysis based on the policy cycle model is described, with special emphasis on processes such as: (1) agenda setting; (2) policy formulation; (3) decision-making; (4) policy implementation; (5) policy evaluation. Furthermore, attention is drawn to the question of ethical values and group identity, which form the basis for understanding human cognition and conduct. Factors influencing the shift in policymaking approaches, including the argumentative turn, the increasing role of open participation, and the epistemic value of civic deliberation, are discussed. Issues of civic activity and social self-organization are highlighted as crucial, with the premise that active and engaged citizens are the core of effective deliberation. The chapter demonstrates how the shift towards deliberation, dialogue, and civic engagement in public policy has led, in the early 21st century, to the development of various innovative e-participatory mechanisms classified as 'open' policymaking. It concludes that open policymaking necessitates a different analytic approach compared to traditional policymaking, potentially involving the scrutiny of collective intelligence manifestations in online projects.