Critical Analysis of Policy Making and Policy Implementation Metaphor: Presenting Alternative Metaphors

An examination of the views of great thinkers such as Bourdieu, Foucault, and Habermas suggest that we live in a language age. Thus, questions of language and power are increasingly raised in politics and the public sphere, but have received less attention. Due to this issue, the purpose of this study is to critically analyze the metaphor of policy-making and policy implementation and provide alternative metaphors for them. To achieve this goal, the method of critical metaphor analysis was used. In this method, metaphor was recognized, interpreted and explained in three steps. The findings show that the metaphor of policy-making and policy implementation is a conventional and fruitful metaphor. Hence, the concepts of "approval", "notification", "order", "implementation", "mission", "report", etc. are derived from the generative metaphor of "policy-making and policy implementation" that affects the cognitive system of actors, and prevents them from acting. The results show that the metaphor of Policy making and Policy implementation indirectly and covertly values actors and persuades them to act. Hence the alternative metaphor of policy development and policy enactment were presented. Policy enactment is a theory that was endorsed in 2012 by Ball et al.