Mehta, Jal2017-06-212010Mehta, Jal. 2010. From ‘Whether’ to ‘How’: The Varied Roles of Ideas in Politics. In How Ideas Matter: Reframing Political Research, eds. Daniel Beland and Bob Cox. Oxford: Oxford University Press.9780199736430http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33063278This chapter examines ideas of varying levels of generality that define how policymakers should act. Building upon and drawing together the best work in the field, it seeks to offer a synthetic analysis of how ideas matter in politics: what is known, what is not known, and what areas are in need of further research. It considers ideas at three levels of generality: policy solutions, problem definitions, and public philosophies or zeitgeist. It also consider interactions between the levels of ideas, with a particular interest in “upward-flowing” interactions, showing that not only does the conception of a problem constrain policy alternatives, but the fate of specific policy solutions also can have an impact on problem definitions or even broader public philosophies.en-USideaspolicymakerspoliticspolicy solutionsproblem definitionspublic philosophieszeitgeistMonograph or Book2017-06-0120102017-06-2110.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736430.001.0001