Editorial.

Bandelow, Nils C. ; Sager, Fritz ; Schubert, Klaus 等

Continuing a practice loosely carried out over the years, this issue of German Policy Studies (GPS) does not contain contributions on a core theme, but rather presents a targeted selection of interesting papers on a variety of subjects. The first contribution is by Sebastian Streb and Markus Tepe, who examine the outsourcing of the formulation of draft bills from German federal ministries to private law firms. They conceptualize the outsourcing procedure as a special form of policy advice in order to search for pivotal factors which can explain this phenomenon. In the second article, Stefan Handke explains the policy gridlock in German financial market regulation by focusing on the main involved parties' utility maximizing strategies. The third paper by Helga Ostendorf focuses on the role of the concept of 'knowledge' in current policy analysis. She extends the 'gender knowledge approach' by examining how agencies reproduce gender relations. The final contribution in this issue is by Celine Mavrot, who studies the theoretical and methodological apprehension of public policy controversies and the role ideas play in them. By modeling actors' beliefs as dependent variables, a deeper understanding of the emergence and the development of the controversy can be reached.

We wish you insightful reading.

Nils C. Bandelow, Fritz Sager, Klaus Schubert