Foreword

Abstract

One striking historical pattern of the Maltese electorate has always been the very high turnout for our national elections. Unlike Australia, Belgium, Cyprus or Luxembourg (to name a few) voting is not mandatory, yet the Maltese have given high value to their most important appointment with democracy. Why? This would require an entire study to itself, but it shifts the attention on the key link between government and citizens: public policy. There are various reasons why I believe this book stands out and is so welcome. The tapestry of themes and issues explored in this second volume make this edition of Public Life in Malta truly unique. In one of the fragments of Heraclitus’ (c. 500 BC) work, the aphorism ‘the only constant is change’ was found. There is no contention that two and a half millennia after, change remains a constant and public policy is one of the platforms to understand how and why. This book provides an array of concepts of public policy and frames them against contemporary issues, as a lens to understand contextualized phenomena. Through different writing styles, it maps empirical applications to theoretical foundations suggesting frameworks of understanding that transcend national borders whenever the case warrants. Whether it is a post-colonial setting, an autonomous national remit, or a supranational perspective (EU related matters), Public Life in Malta offers essential reading.