Kingdon's “Streams” Model at Thirty: Still Relevant in the 21st Century?

Abstract

John Kingdon's multiple-streams model, developed to explain the policy formulation process, is often cited in the policy literature, and remains a staple of policy courses. In spite of critiques suggesting Kingdon's work is theoretically shaky and difficult to observe empirically, the work seems to retain a prominent place in the policy literature, garnering hundreds of citations since its publication. This article provides a review of the literature employing Kingdon's work, from 1984 to the present. The results show that the model has been used across all inhabited continents but suggest a decline in the use of the model in the U.S. scholarly literature. Other theories are liberally used in conjunction with Kingdon's model. The study provides an update on recent trends in the model's use and offers guidelines for interested researchers about topics that are considered as a productive endeavor, going forward. Related Articles: Knutsen, Wenjue Lu. 2012. “An Institutional Account of China's HIV/AIDS Policy Process from 1985 to 2010.” Politics & Policy 40 (1): 161-192. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00339.x/abstract. Weiner, Terry. 2007. “Touching the Third Rail: Explaining the Failure of Bush's Social Security Initiative.” Politics & Policy 35 (4): 872-897. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00087.x/abstract. David, Charles-Philippe. 2015. “Policy Entrepreneurs and the Reorientation of National Security Policy under the G. W. Bush Administration (2001-04).” Politics & Policy 43 (1): 163-195. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12106/abstract. Related Media: Kingdon, John W. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_W._Kingdon. Dow, Katheryn. 2013. “Kingdon's 3 Streams.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-wIyS-hFNI. Urban Policy Lab Konstanz. 2015. “Multiple Streams Approach: An Introduction.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUlvyBVoJiI.