Rescuing the decision process

On the occasion of the 50th volume of policy sciences, a former editor considers which concept from the policy sciences has diffused most widely outside the pages of the journal. If textbooks on the policy process are any indicator of what's most valuable about Lasswell's policy sciences framework, then the decision process is his most enduring contribution. Unfortunately, many textbooks conflate the decision process with derivative policy process concepts, thereby distorting the original and isolating it from a complete set of diagnostic and prescriptive tools all meant to be deployed together.