Dealing with bad guys: actor- and process-level determinants of the “devil shift” in policy making. Fischer, M., Ingold, K., Sciarini, P., & Varone, F. Journal of Public Policy, 36(02):309--334, June, 2016.
Dealing with bad guys: actor- and process-level determinants of the “devil shift” in policy making [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Policy actors tend to misinterpret and distrust opponents in policy processes. This phenomenon, known as the “devil shift”, consists of the following two dimensions: actors perceive opponents as more powerful and as more evil than they really are. Analysing nine policy processes in Switzerland, this article highlights the drivers of the devil shift at two levels. On the actor level, interest groups, political parties and powerful actors suffer more from the devil shift than state actors and powerless actors. On the process level, the devil shift is stronger in policy processes dealing with socio-economic issues as compared with other issues. Finally, and in line with previous studies, there is less empirical evidence of the power dimension of the devil shift phenomenon than of its evilness dimension.
@article{fischer_dealing_2016,
	title = {Dealing with bad guys: actor- and process-level determinants of the “devil shift” in policy making},
	volume = {36},
	issn = {1469-7815},
	shorttitle = {Dealing with bad guys},
	url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/article_S0143814X15000021},
	doi = {10.1017/S0143814X15000021},
	abstract = {Policy actors tend to misinterpret and distrust opponents in policy processes. This phenomenon, known as the “devil shift”, consists of the following two dimensions: actors perceive opponents as more powerful and as more evil than they really are. Analysing nine policy processes in Switzerland, this article highlights the drivers of the devil shift at two levels. On the actor level, interest groups, political parties and powerful actors suffer more from the devil shift than state actors and powerless actors. On the process level, the devil shift is stronger in policy processes dealing with socio-economic issues as compared with other issues. Finally, and in line with previous studies, there is less empirical evidence of the power dimension of the devil shift phenomenon than of its evilness dimension.},
	number = {02},
	urldate = {2016-05-23},
	journal = {Journal of Public Policy},
	author = {Fischer, Manuel and Ingold, Karin and Sciarini, Pascal and Varone, Frédéric},
	month = jun,
	year = {2016},
	pages = {309--334},
	file = {Cambridge Journals Snapshot:files/54687/displayAbstract.html:text/html;Full Text PDF:files/54686/Fischer et al. - 2016 - Dealing with bad guys actor- and process-level de.pdf:application/pdf}
}

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