Policy Convergence in the UK and Germany

Policy Convergence in the UK and Germany
Author: Simon Green
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2007-12-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 113676707X

Policy convergence and policy learning have emerged as central themes in the study of public policy in recent years. Previously published as a special issue of German Politics, this landmark volume complements the rich literature on theoretical aspects as well as individual case studies by undertaking a systematic comparison of policy convergence between two specific countries, the UK and Germany.

Renewable Energy Policy Convergence in the EU

Renewable Energy Policy Convergence in the EU
Author: David Jacobs
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2016-03-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317066308

This book examines the coordination of renewable energy policies in the European Union using an innovative theoretical approach to explain national policy making. David Jacobs asks, why are national support instruments for electricity from renewable energy sources converging, even though the harmonisation of these frameworks at the European level has failed? Which causal mechanisms lead to cross-national policy similarities? And what are the implications for policy coordination in the EU? The author traces the evolution of feed-in tariffs - the most successful and most widely used support mechanism for renewable electricity - in Germany, Spain and France. He reveals increasing cross-national policy similarities in feed-in tariff design - despite the failure of harmonizing instruments at the European level. He explains these increasing policy similarities by applying policy convergence theory. Policy convergence can occur voluntarily, based on transnational communication, regulatory competition and technological innovations and these findings have important implications for European policy steering. The key to this book is the interrelation of an innovative theoretical concept (coordination of policies in the international arena via voluntary cooperation) with a very topical empirical research focus - the promotion of renewable energies in the EU. It will be essential reading for scholars and students of environmental policy, comparative politics and European studies.

The National Origins of Policy Ideas

The National Origins of Policy Ideas
Author: John L. Campbell
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2014-04-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 069116116X

In politics, ideas matter. They provide the foundation for economic policymaking, which in turn shapes what is possible in domestic and international politics. Yet until now, little attention has been paid to how these ideas are produced and disseminated, and how this process varies between countries. The National Origins of Policy Ideas provides the first comparative analysis of how "knowledge regimes"—communities of policy research organizations like think tanks, political party foundations, ad hoc commissions, and state research offices, and the institutions that govern them—generate ideas and communicate them to policymakers. John Campbell and Ove Pedersen examine how knowledge regimes are organized, operate, and have changed over the last thirty years in the United States, France, Germany, and Denmark. They show how there are persistent national differences in how policy ideas are produced. Some countries do so in contentious, politically partisan ways, while others are cooperative and consensus oriented. They find that while knowledge regimes have adopted some common practices since the 1970s, tendencies toward convergence have been limited and outcomes have been heavily shaped by national contexts. Drawing on extensive interviews with top officials at leading policy research organizations, this book demonstrates why knowledge regimes are as important to capitalism as the state and the firm, and sheds new light on debates about the effects of globalization, the rise of neoliberalism, and the orientation of comparative political economy in political science and sociology.

Cross-national Policy Convergence

Cross-national Policy Convergence
Author: Christoph Knill
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2013-10-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317983572

A fresh analysis of policy convergences across nations, which identifies their key driving forces. To what extent and in which direction can we empirically observe a convergence of national policies? In which areas and for which patterns of policy is convergence more or less pronounced? This text addresses these central questions with clarity and rigour. With growing economic and institutional interlinkages between nation states, it is often assumed that there is an overall trend towards increasingly similar policies across countries. Comparative research on the domestic impact of globalization and European integration, however, reveals that policy convergence can hardly be considered as a dominant and uniform tendency which can be taken for granted. Although a number of factors have been suggested in order to account for the rather mixed empirical picture, we still have limited knowledge about the causes and conditions of cross-national policy convergence. In particular, the central mechanisms and conditions affecting both degree and level of cross-national policy convergence are yet not well understood. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of the European Union, European politics, and international relations. This is a special issue of the leading Journal of European Public Policy.

Towards a New Multilateralism

Towards a New Multilateralism
Author: Thomas Meyer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2021-03-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000366812

This edited book focuses on the dynamic balance between global cultural diversity and multilateral convergence in relevant policy areas that involve actual and potential policy convergences (and divergences): the environment, trade, peace and security, and human rights. It offers theoretical reflections about the impact of the concept of multiple modernities on new ideas, cultural backgrounds, and/or national or regional particularities. An interdisciplinary team of authors combines comparative policy analysis with theoretical dialogue about the conceptual, institutional, normative, and political dimensions of a new kind of multilateral cooperation. Finally, the book concludes that by stimulating an intercultural dialogue which goes beyond a mere "rational choice" approach, we can foster progress through a better understanding of the opportunities and limitations offered by a pluralist, varied, post-hegemonic, and multilayered form of multilateral cooperation. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European/EU studies, economics, human rights, climate change, history, cultural studies, international relations, international political economy, security studies, and international law.

Capitalism Against Capitalism

Capitalism Against Capitalism
Author: Michael Albert
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2009-01-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1870332547

Communism has collapsed. Capitalism has rid itself of the competition on which it thrives. But though now victorious, capitalism has become a threat. The future of us all may be shaped by the outcome of the conflict between capitalism as victor and capitalism as threat. Not only in Europe, but also in the US and Japan - and no doubt shortly in the Eastern countries too - the great debate is capitalism versus capitalism. On the one hand is the "neo-American" model based on individual achievement and short-term profits. On the other is the Rhine model practices in Switzerland, Germany, Benelux, Northern Europe and, partly, in Japan. In the Rhine model collective achievement and public concensus are seen as the keys to long-term success. The first is more seductive, the second more effective. These two opposing forms of capitalism are engaged in a war which, like all internal conflicts, involves both secrecy and even hypocrisy. The outcome of this struggle could affect the quality of life on all levels of society. The author of this book aims to provide a synthesis which will force the reader to consider the political and economic issues at stake towards the end of the century.

Integration Processes and Policies in Europe

Integration Processes and Policies in Europe
Author: Blanca Garcés-Mascareñas
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2015-10-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319216740

In this open access book, experts on integration processes, integration policies, transnationalism, and the migration and development framework provide an academic assessment of the 2011 European Agenda for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals, which calls for integration policies in the EU to involve not only immigrants and their society of settlement, but also actors in their country of origin. Moreover, a heuristic model is developed for the non-normative, analytical study of integration processes and policies based on conceptual, demographic, and historical accounts. The volume addresses three interconnected issues: What does research have to say on (the study of) integration processes in general and on the relevance of actors in origin countries in particular? What is the state of the art of the study of integration policies in Europe and the use of the concept of integration in policy formulation and practice? Does the proposal to include actors in origin countries as important players in integration policies find legitimation in empirical research? A few general conclusions are drawn. First, integration policies have developed at many levels of government: nationally, locally, regionally, and at the supra-national level of the EU. Second, a multitude of stakeholders has become involved in integration as policy designers and implementers. Finally, a logic of policymaking—and not an evidence-based scientific argument—can be said to underlie the European Commission’s redefinition of integration as a three-way process. This book will appeal to academics and policymakers at international, European, national, regional, and local levels. It will also be of interest to graduate and master-level students of political science, sociology, social anthropology, international relations, criminology, geography, and history.

Handbook of Global Education Policy

Handbook of Global Education Policy
Author: Karen Mundy
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 632
Release: 2016-02-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 111846804X

This innovative new handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the ways in which domestic education policy is framed and influenced by global institutions and actors. Surveys current debates about the role of education in a global polity, highlights key transnational policy actors, accessibly introduces research methodologies, and outlines global agendas for education reform Includes contributions from an international cast of established and emerging scholars at the forefront of the field thoughtfully edited and organized by a team of world-renowned global education policy experts Each section features a thorough introduction designed to facilitate readers’ understanding of the subsequent material and highlight links to interdisciplinary global policy scholarship Written in an accessible and engaging style that will appeal to domestic and international policy practitioners, social scientists, and education scholars alike

Planning Cultures in Europe

Planning Cultures in Europe
Author: Jörg Knieling
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2009
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780754675655

Bringing together an interdisciplinary team from across the EU, this book connects elements of cultural and planning theories to explain differences and peculiarities among EU member states and develops an analytical model which encourages a scientific an

Immigration and Membership Politics in Western Europe

Immigration and Membership Politics in Western Europe
Author: Sara Wallace Goodman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2014-10-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 131606168X

Why are traditional nation-states newly defining membership and belonging? In the twenty-first century, several Western European states have attached obligatory civic integration requirements as conditions for citizenship and residence, which include language proficiency, country knowledge and value commitments for immigrants. This book examines this membership policy adoption and adaptation through both medium-N analysis and three paired comparisons to argue that while there is convergence in instruments, there is also significant divergence in policy purpose, design and outcomes. To explain this variation, this book focuses on the continuing, dynamic interaction of institutional path dependency and party politics. Through paired comparisons of Austria and Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands and France, this book illustrates how variations in these factors - as well as a variety of causal processes - produce divergent civic integration policy strategies that, ultimately, preserve and anchor national understandings of membership.