This section of 510 follows the policymaking process after legislators claim credit and the TV cameras shut down: the work of trying to implement and interpret the law. In the United States, this process is guided by the executive branch, through rulemaking, and the judicial branch, through oversight. But as we will see, neither of these two branches of government operate in isolation from each other, from Congress, or most importantly, from the democratic process. This extent to which bureaucracy and the courts are insulated or open to public influence, and the channels through which that influence occurs, explain a large part of what happens “on the ground” in the United States. It also serves as a key point of contrast in understanding how policymaking in other countries compares to the United States.
