INDICE Introduction 1 Making Social Science Relevant: Policy Inquiry in Critical Perspective Public Policy and the Discursive Construction of Reality 2 Constructing Policy Theory: Ideas and Discourse 3 Public Policy and Discourse Construct: Multiple Realities and Interpretative Understanding Public Policy and Discursive Politics 4 Public Policy and Discursive Analysis 5 Policy Discourse versus Advocacy Coalitions: Interpreting Policy Change and Learning Discursive Policy Inquiry: Restituting Empirical Analysis 6 Postempiricist Foundations: Social Constructionism and Practical Discourse 7 Interpreting Public Policy: Analytical and Methodological Perspectives 8 Public Policy as Narrative: Stories, Frames, and Metanarratives 9 The Argumentative Turn: Policy Analysis as Discursive Practice Deliberative Governance 10 Citizens and Experts: Democratizing Policy Deliberations 11 The Deliberative Policy Analyst: Theoretical Issues and Practical Challenges