Case Study of the Interagency Process for Making Presidential Policy Decisions on Dual-Use Space Technology: The Global Positioning System and Space Traffic Management
Open AccessUnderstanding how, and why, governments choose a course of action on an issue is one of the enduring problems in public policy and public administration. Policy decisions on dual-use technology are particularly challenging, as they require balancing the national security risks (or advantages) a dual-use technology poses (or offers) when used in a military context with the potential societal and economic benefits it may provide when used in a non-military context. Over the last several decades, dual-use space technology has emerged as a critical enabler of both national security and broader societal and economic benefits. This qualitative, multiple-case study provides insight into how US presidential policy decisions on dual-use space technology are made. The study develops an initial set of theoretical propositions from the existing literature on the evolution of the interagency process; Graham Allison’s rational actor, organizational behavior, and governmental politics models for understanding presidential decision-making; and the clash of cultures between the Merchants and Guardians as developed by Jane Jacobs and Scott Pace. The study uses interviews, historical documents, and news articles to develop a narrative analysis of two historical cases of presidential policy decisions on the Global Positioning System (GPS), a decision by the Clinton Administration in 1996 and a decision by the George W. Bush Administration in 2004, and iteratively evaluates and refines the propositions. Finally, the study examines the Obama Administration’s pre-decisional process on Space Traffic Management (STM), and uses the historical Clinton and Bush GPS policy decisions to develop insights for the potential future direction of, and challenges in, the STM policy process. The study finds that the policy decisions on dual-use space technology were largely developed using a modification of the National Security Council (NSC) process. In the Clinton Administration, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) led the process, but in the Bush and Obama administrations the NSC assumed the leadership role. The initiation of the interagency process was motivated by a heterogeneous set of issues, and the process consisted of preparatory, debate, and resolution phases, which were each dominated by rational choice, organizational behavior, and governmental politics, respectively. Reaching a policy decision required resolving national security and civil/commercial tensions over differences in organizational processes and culture, and control of the dual-use capabilities. The tensions were heightened by differences in worldview, which made resolution using rational analysis difficult. Personalities also affected the difficulty of making a policy change, the behavior and positions of organizations, and leadership of the process.
- All rights reserved
Notice to Authors
If you are the author of this work and you have any questions about the information on this page, please use the Contact form to get in touch with us.