ClassInfo

Sophisticated agents of change appreciate that there are "varieties of politics," which offer discrete and interconnected avenues. Elections, legislation, and administrative and legal accountability - along with protests and community organizing - are used by political activists and policy entrepreneurs to produce or thwart change. Each modality of politics is distinctive, varying in terms of the types of actors involved; the resources that are required; the scope of political debate; the visibility of the policy design; and their potential consequences. If political change is the objective, which variety of politics is most feasible and potentially impactful?

Time is a critical - often overlooked - dimension in politics. President Barack Obama's health reform and the conservative movement's attack on estate taxes not only produced change at one point in time but also influenced subsequent politics by generating new public expectations, interest groups, and government agencies committed to ongoing implementation. Politically astute reformers design progressive and conservative policies to secure change in the first instance and then to influence politics downstream.