Studies of public policy typically focusonprocesses taking place at a single level of social
organization—more often than not the national level—and direct attention either to
one-oVchoices (e.g. whether or not theUSfederal government should open parts of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development) or to generic decisions
applicable to a relatively well-deWned class of situations (e.g. whether or not the US
should prohibit or ban the harvesting of marine mammals regardless of the circumstances).
There is much to be said for engaging in analyses of this type. They have given
rise to an inXuential stream of research; there is much still to be done to broaden and
deepen our understanding of public policy processes approached in this way.