Conclusion

We started this book by commenting that we live in a democracy, and we will conclude by reflecting on this theme. What, then, can we learn from our six case-studies about the way in which democracy influences the policy-making process? It would indeed be strange if we found no evidence of the democratic process at work in the case-studies we have been looking at; this would certainly be at odds with the ‘official’ picture of policy-making that politicians and the media paint. However, anyone who has read the six case-studies must be aware that the way in which policies were made (if calling them policies is not an exaggeration in the first place) did not accord with the institutional view which was outlined in the first chapter.