Policy By Design: The Elusive Link Between Problems and Policies Jeremy Rayner Department of Political Science University of Regina Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2 jeremy.rayner@uregina.ca Philippe Zittoun Research Fellow LET-ENTPE Assistant Professor in Sciences Po Grenoble LET-ENTPE 2 rue Maurice Audin 69120 Vaulx en Velin pzittoun@gmail.com Paper prepared for the Annual Meetings of the Canadian Political Science Association, University of British Columbia, June 4-6, 2008 Abstract This paper re-examines the connection between problems and solutions in policy theory, starting from the constant tension in policy analysis between policy and politics. Politics is often seen as the enemy of good policy because the political work that has to be done in the course of coming to a decision is usually downplayed in favour of an allegedly rational connection between problem and solution. Noting that the activity of making connections is clearest at times of institutional ambiguity, the paper analyses the decision making process in the Great Bear Rainforest dispute in coastal British Columbia, drawing on concepts from ordinary language philosophy and the historiography of political thought. 1