Smokefree public places policy in Scotland : rethinking policy work in multiple streams and punctuated equilibrium theory

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Smith, Kat (2026) Smokefree public places policy in Scotland : rethinking policy work in multiple streams and punctuated equilibrium theory. Policy and Politics. ISSN 0305-5736 (In Press)

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Abstract

This article examines how and why Scotland became the first UK nation to introduce comprehensive smokefree public places legislation through prominent theories of policy change. To do so, it draws on a witness seminar involving former ministers, senior officials, advocates, researchers and environmental health experts, triangulated with documentary sources. The findings broadly support accounts based on Multiple Streams Framework and Punctuated Equilibrium Theory: a policy window opened as evidence accumulated, political support aligned, and devolution created a new institutional venue. However, the witness seminar also highlights forms of policy work that these frameworks do not fully capture. Participants describe how policymakers actively shaped consultation processes, curated and mobilised evidence, deployed strategic framing, coordinated political leadership, and designed implementation to maximise compliance. The article argues that, while existing theories explain agenda setting and timing, they under-specify the practical ‘statecraft’ through which governments construct conditions for policy adoption and delivery. Building on the evolutionary roots of Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, the article introduces Niche Construction Theory to explain how policymakers reshape institutional, informational and political environments to influence policy trajectories. This extension highlights the blurring of political and technocratic work and emphasizes the value of qualitative analysis for understanding such processes of policy change.

ORCID iDs

Smith, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1060-4102;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)