History, Policy Making, and Sustainability

Abstract

Public policy and policy making is an inherent task of the institutions and state for the purpose of well-knit and sustainable governance in the society and organisation as well as in the state. The quality of governance is based upon how visionary the public policy is and how far it has been implemented. The aspect of sustainability thrives on the perspective that policy making should be inclusive having inter-generational justice. The chapter attempts to look into how far history has played its role in policymaking of the state and civil society. It also looked into how history had a role in the foreign policy making of the state. Analogies can be drawn from the past experience into the present decision making which can have a reflection in the future as well. Lyndon Johnson's administration prepared internal histories to key policy issues, in hopes of better informing the initial efforts of its successor. The illustrations and examples in the chapter are not confined to the geographical boundaries of any particular nation but rather have a global dimension.