Communicating Policy
Over recent years, governance worldwide has begun to recognise a quiet yet significant truth: policies, no matter how well-crafted, cannot succeed in a vacuum of meaning. In complex, fragmented societies, particularly those facing economic pressures, democratic fatigue, or internal conflict, people do not judge governments solely on their actions. They also respond to how those actions are explained, communicated, and woven into the broader story of national life. Yet, in many bureaucratic cultures, communication remains an afterthought. It is seen as an add-on to policymaking rather than an integral part of the process. The result is an ongoing disconnect between state intentions and citizen perceptions, often mistaken for apathy, resistance, or misinformation, when in reality, the state has failed to communicate in ways that truly resonate.
The question, then, is not whether governments should communicate. It is whether they are willing to rethink who performs that work, and how. This requires a wider reimagining of the civil service, not just regarding efficiency or digital skills, but its fundamental identity. The modern civil servant cannot simply be an implementer of directives or a guardian of rules. They must also become translators: of complexity into clarity, of policy into narrative, of the state into something understandable and credible to its people.
In many bureaucratic cultures, communication remains an afterthought.
This is not a call for branding, nor a suggestion that governance be reduced to performance. It is an argument about the balance between democratic legitimacy and administrative effectiveness. When governments fail to communicate, they lose........
© Daily Times
