The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning

Drawing upon the work of such theorists as Foucault, Habermas, Toulmin and Wittgenstein, this book brings recent work on language and argumentation to bear on the practical concerns of policy analysis and planning. The European and US contributors to the book examine the interplay of language, action and power in terms of both applied policy and theoretical debates. Emphasizing the political nature of the work of planners and policy-makers, the book stresses the role of persuasive arguments in practical decision contexts. Recognizing the rhetorical, communicative character of planning and policy deliberations, the writers demonstrate that policy arguments are necessarily selective, both shaping and being shaped by power relations.