Public Policies

The objective of this chapter is to trace and present the main characteristics of the public policy system in Spain, incorporating policy change over time, as well as the policy style that has characterized its different stages. The transition between Francoism and democracy generated significant continuities and discontinuities both in the decision-making processes and in the actors’ system. The full incorporation into the European Union also involved significant changes in content, processes and networks. Finally, the impacts of the 2007 crisis and the effects of globalization and technological change also generated significant disruptions that will also be incorporated. The chapter will distinguish the conceptual, substantive, and operational aspects of the public policy system in Spain, as well as the main elements of the multilevel government. This aspect is especially complex in the Spanish case, given the combination of Europeanization of policies and the very remarkable regional decentralization generated by 1980.