Policy narratives: the perlocutionary agents of political discourse

ABSTRACT

The ontological and epistemological footing of narrative policy research remains uncertain. In this article, interpretive approaches to policy narrative research are advanced and scientism is eschewed. Other themes in the policy narrative literature that serve as points of divergence and/or convergence include: 1) The structural features of a policy narrative; 2) The semiotic nature of policy narratives; 3) Epistemological politics; 4) Emancipatory politics within the literature; and 5) The idea that narratives are a force in themselves, that is, that narratives have agency. In addition, this article argues for a curatorial approach to redescribing policy narratives, and for an evolutionary conception of policy change and political contestation.

KEYWORDS:

• Linguistic turn
• narrative politics
• public policy
• narrative policy analysis
• symbolic meaning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Source: Philippe Zittoun, e-mail communication, 16 June 2020.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hugh T. Miller

Hugh T. Miller  takes a narrative approach to studying public policy and administration. This Narrative Politics model is developed in the 2020 book Narrative Politics in Public Policy: Legalizing Cannabis and in the 2012 book Governing Narratives: Symbolic Politics and Policy Change (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press) and also in a 2018 article published in Critical Policy Studies titled ‘Narrative Subscription in Public Policy Discourse.’