Policy Agenda and Responsiveness Government. The Romanian Case

Abstract:

This research highlight the two concepts: responsiveness government and  policy agenda-as a result of convergence between citizens’ priorities and governmental and parliamentary activity, and tries to find evidence to prove a relationship of mutual conditioning between the two concept.

We see responsiveness as part of democratic signal detection system that alerts policymakers to the anxieties and wishes of the public.

On one hand, responsiveness in the context of a system can be defined as an outcome that can be achieved when institutions and institutional relationships are designed in such way that they are cognizant and respond appropriately to the universally legitimate expectations of the citizens.. So, responsiveness is the key to the proper functioning of any democracy and an important value itself . A good functioning of the democracy must take into account as a primary value not only representation, but also the means of solving the problems. This involves information processing, communication, and the way through which the public’s preferences are created and influenced by the governmental strategies and through collective dynamics along with establishing the policy agenda as a result of convergence agendas.

On the other hand, a policy agenda that represents a common place of convergence between citizens’ priorities and governmental and parliamentary activity, is a guarantee that the citizens will receive appropriate and opportune responses of their demands. In other words the convergence agendas  involves the existence of responsiveness government.
Key words: responsiveness government, policy agenda, dynamic capabilities, convergence of agendas.