From the editor in chief

The four articles in this issue address conditions that shape public policymaking here in the United States, as well as in Canada and Germany.

A. John Sinclair, in "Public Consultation for Sustainable Development Policy Initiatives: Manitoba Approaches," is concerned with public participation

in the development of public policy, in his case, sustainable development policy in Manitoba, Canada. Public participation in policymaking is a difficult and controversial matter. Sinclair studies public consultation during two specific periods in the development of sustainable development policy in Manitoba. He finds that when, what he calls, "more complex consultative approaches" for public consultation were used, a number of positive consequences resulted. These included mutual learning, broadly supported policy innovations and participant satisfaction.

Herbert Gottweis, in "Stem Cell Policies in the United States and in Germany: Between Bioethics and Regulation," compares human embryonic stem cell research policy in the United States and in Germany. He is concerned with explaining vastly different policies in this area in the two countries. Using discourse analysis, he finds that in the United States, stem cell research came to be seen as something that should be pursued, albeit with specific, strict guidelines to prevent massive destruction of embryos. In Germany, on the other hand, stem cell research came to be considered "an assault on humanity," and stem cell research in Germany is almost nonexistent. He argues that scientific policies are closely tied to multilayered interpretations that create meanings and images, and these policies can be either consistent or inconsistent with a country's dominant metanarrative. These interpretations and narratives have serious implications for regulatory policymaking.

Steve Recchia, in "International Environmental Treaty Engagement in 19 Democracies," notes the variations in commitments of 19 democracies to international environmental treaties. He examines the causal factors that account for these variations in international treaty engagement by democratic states. The study, based on the analysis of multiple indicators, finds that postmaterialist value orientation of the citizens and executive-centered political institutions are the strongest causal factors.

In "A Multiple Stream Model of U.S. Foreign Aid Policy," Rick Travis and Nikolaos Zahariadis are concerned with explaining U.S. foreign aid allocations. They suggest that many variables, including trade ties, human needs, and political ideologies of the U.S. administration and the recipient country, influence U.S. foreign aid decisions. The authors find significant relationships between economic and security-related assistance and domestic and external variables. Their findings, they argue, have implications not only for foreign aid programs but also, more broadly, for the development of policy theory to cover both foreign and domestic policy.

Uday Desai