ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a panoramic view of the lens by presenting its assumptions and guiding logic. It outlines the main structural elements of the framework. The chapter discusses the various processes by which elements come together to provide answers to the puzzle of choice. The chapter addresses limitations of the lens, and proposes an agenda for future research. Multiple Streams (MS) theorizes at the systemic level, and it incorporates an entire system or a separate decision as the unit of analysis. Much like systems theory, it views choice as the collective output formulated by the push and pull of several factors. MS deals with policy making under conditions of ambiguity. Ambiguity refers to "a state of having many ways of thinking about the same circumstances or phenomena". The logic of political manipulation sets MS apart from other lenses, which employ rationality or persuasion. Rationalists assume that individuals are utility-maximizers.
