Title: The policy of non-decision: the case of clinical trials in Israel

Authors: Michal Neubauer-Shani; Etienne Lepicard

Addresses: Department of Politics and Governance and the Division of Multidisciplinary Studies in Social Sciences, Ashkelon Academic College, Yizhak Ben-Zvi 12, Ashkelon, Israel ' Center for Medical Education, Hadassah and Hebrew University Medical School, Ein-Kerem Campus, Jerusalem, Israel

Abstract: The modern world is characterised by dynamic various changes, which generate new multifaceted issues that are candidates for policymaking. However, liberal democracies often abstain from tackling these issues, despite implications not favouring the public. While most countries have regulated the sensitive issue of clinical trials through primary legislation, the state of Israel addressed this issue through secondary legislation and a circular issued by the Ministry of Health's director-general. Despite this policy lacks crucial elements that would protect the subjects of clinical trials, several attempts to change it through primary legislation, have failed. This article contends that excluding the alternative of comprehensive legislation from the agenda is enabled by the policy of non-decision adopted by policymakers, demonstrating covert power. Based on a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and existing sources, this article will explain the continued adoption of the non-decision policy by identifying the mobilisation of bias that characterises this arena and examining the tactics employed by stakeholders to maintain the status quo.

Keywords: clinical trials; non-decision; policy agenda; mobilisation of bias; covert power; status quo; Nazi medical trials; human experiments in medicine; Israel.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPP.2024.139752

International Journal of Public Policy, 2024 Vol.17 No.4, pp.302 - 320

Received: 10 Apr 2023
Accepted: 30 Nov 2023
Published online: 05 Jul 2024 *

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