Explaining the Ineffective Implementation of Constitutional Rulings through the Concept of Policy Networks: The Case of Public Policy towards 'the Erased' in the Republic of Slovenia

• Published in: Romanian journal of political science 2016-12, Vol.16 (2), p.87-120
• Main Author: Ana, Železnik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Politics / Political Sciences
• ISSN: 1582-456X

This article seeks to contribute to the understanding of public policy towards ‘the Erased’ implementation problems in the Republic of Slovenia, where the former Yugoslav population was removed from the Register of Permanent Residence by national authorities. We will focus on the implementation of two constitutional rulings during the period from 1999 to 2012 in the context of multi-level policymaking and policy networks. With the analytical framework applied in a two-level analysis we will analyse how these mezzo (the relations between policy actors) and macro level (the structural strength of the state and social political groups in parliament) variables influence policy outcomes and in particular ineffective implementation. The results reveal a gap between two different decision-making processes: what political actors wanted to do, and what they were obliged to do according to constitutional demands. Additionally, the change at the macro level will be shown to contribute to the change in the policy network at the mezzo level and thus to the final implementation of public policy towards ‘the Erased.’