ABSTRACT

This chapter begin by presenting three very different explanations of changes in American public policy over time. One explanation has been proposed by Arthur Schlesinger (1987), who suggests that public policy in America is patterned around a "policy cycle" in which thirty-year periods of conservatism alternate with dirty-year periods of liberalism. A second explanation of policy change is offered by Paul Sabatier (1987), who argues that "policy learning" plays a major role. Finally, Edwin Amenta and Theda Skocpol (1989) have proposed that American public policy follows a zig-zag pattern in which different groups are offered patronage that produces a backlash in public policy over time. After evaluating the utility of these three explanations in terms of the evolution of environmentalism, Americans incorporate the first year of the Clinton administration's policies into our analysis. Many national and global ecology groups provide tactical and technical assistance to local citizens groups around the world.