Theories of the policy process: Chronicling the past and looking to the future

This personal reflection starts with the theme of how Theories of the Policy Process or ToPP (Sabatier, 1999) was received by European researchers and why this volume was particularly important for scholars working on the policy process of the European Union. Yet (this is the second theme) policy process research in Europe was also stimulated by other theoretical frameworks. A third theme is the status of theory in Europe today, balancing the reception of ToPP with the presence of frameworks like the référentiel, Europeanization, and policy learning. Finally, the fourth theme is about the future. The successful cumulation of theory-inspired policy process research does not suggest the need for another set of new theories. Rather, the key is to integrate ToPP with theory-oriented research on the policy stages that are less explored by existing theories (such as implementation and evaluation theories), public administration theory, and the normative perspective on governance.