Week 9.2 Policy Transfer, Policy Learning,

Policy Convergence, Policy Diffusion.

OR: Week 9.2 Regime change,

humanitarian intervention, socialisation,

conditionality ….

Lecture Aims• What is policy transfer?• Who does it? • Why do they do it?• What do they transfer? How Much?• Where do they transfer from?• Does it work?• Normative aspects: should it happen in this form

and in this way?• Tobacco example – domestic and international

transfer• Links to previous lectures

What is Policy Transfer?

3 descriptions to look out for:

• The evidence for similarities in policy across regions*.

• The causes of similarities in policy across regions.

• The pursuit of similarities in policy across regions.

Policy Diffusion

• Suggests a passive governmental process?

• Refers to similar adoptions of policy without evidence of emulation?

• Associated with the analysis of policy spreading across US states

Policy Convergence

1. Evidence of similarities across countries: policy goals, content, instruments, outcomes and/ or styles.

2. Movement towards similarity

• It could mean independent problem solving based on the same pressures

• But Bennet suggests not calling this “convergence”

Policy Learning (Rose)

• Focus on ‘lesson-drawing’

• Regions learn from their own past experience … then from other regions

• Negative lessons also learned*

• A voluntary process?

Policy Transfer

“The process by which knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in one political system (past or present) is used in the development of policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in another political system” (Dolowitz and Marsh)*

Who Does It?• The “usual suspects”*

• New suspects - policy entrepreneurs, NGOs, epistemic communities

• Supra-national organisations – EU, World Bank, UN*

• The US?*

• Note exporters and importers

Why Transfer?

• Is it voluntary?

• Does the force for change come from within?

• Or is it coercive?

• Does the force for change come from elsewhere?

Voluntary transfer• Associated with learning

• Follows dissatisfaction with policy or a natural tendency to look abroad.

• Suggests a rational process?

• Transfer search also used to legitimise existing policy.

Direct Coercive transfer• Borrowing country forced to adopt a policy.

• Most associated with the US?

• The role of the World Bank comes close?

• Increasing role for the EU*

Indirect Coercive transfer

• Voluntary but driven by perceived need for region B to change because:

• Region A is an important market for exports

• A and B have a close working relationship

• A perceives a need to “keep up”*

• Region A’s policies may cause externalities*

Policy Transfer ContinuumObligated Transfer (transfer as a result of treaty obligations etc) Lesson-Drawing Coercive Transfer (perfect rationality) (direct imposition) Lesson-Drawing Voluntarily but Conditionality (bounded rationality) driven by perceived necessity (such as the desire for international acceptance) (Source: Dolowitz and Marsh, 2000: 13)

Obligated Transfer (transfer as a result of treaty obligations etc) Lesson-Drawing Coercive Transfer (perfect rationality) (direct imposition) Lesson-Drawing Voluntarily but Conditionality (bounded rationality) driven by perceived necessity (such as the desire for international acceptance)

humanitarian interventions? ……Regime Change EU enforcement EU Socialisation Conditionality best practice

Humanitarian Intervention?

• Difficult to place on the continuum

• What is the level of imposition?

• Defined by the interests of the state or its population?

• Based on shifting international norms and rules

• Variable consistency with norms and rules

humanitarian interventions? ……Regime Change EU enforcement EU Socialisation Conditionality best practice

Discussion of continuum

• Transfer may contain voluntary and coercive elements*

• Perceived need varies and is subject to internal political processes

• Appearance of coercion may help governments introduce unpopular policies

How much?

• Ranges from complete duplication to broad inspiration

• Duplication only possible with similar starting points*

• Adaptation more likely• Or countries synthesise policies from a

range of sources• Or make a hybrid from borrowing and

lending countries• Broad inspiration – pitfalls?

What is Transferred?

• In different terms – range from complete policy content to negative lessons*

• Or from single transfer in one year to wholesale over a number*

• Policy goals, structure and content

• Institutions, policy instruments or administrative techniques;

• Ideology; Attitudes; Ideas

From Where Are Lessons Drawn?

• Lessons likely to be drawn from other regions if they share:

• Policy conditions (particularly economic)

• Ideology*

• ‘Geographical propinquity’*

Policy Transfer and Failure

• Based on adaptability, knowledge, resources to implement

• Dolowitz and Marsh discuss 3 aspects of failure - uninformed, incomplete, inappropriate transfer*

• Transfer failure qualifies idea of coercion? Or successful coercion?

Normative aspects

• Should it happen in this form and in this way?

• Remember MLG and incrementalism concepts: this is how it is done and how it should be done

• It is more difficult to detect this argument in the transfer literature

Tobacco example

• Demonstrates the range of processes and issues

• Multi-level Governance*

• Advertising: EU encourages UK but coerces Germany

• Smoking ban: minimal EU power; the rest of the UK coerces England

• FCTC = humanitarian intervention?

• Developed countries challenging tobacco company shift to developing countries

Links to previous lectures

Comprehensive Rationality

• Perfect rationality at one end of transfer continuum

• Conflates rationality and lack of coercion?

• Comprehensive Rationality discussion suggests that policy transfer can be entirely voluntary but not ‘rational’

• Maybe they mean pressure for change reduces time to learn?

Incrementalism

• Governments learn from own mistakes first?

• Focus of learning restricted to most similar regions?

• Other searches unrealistic/ inappropriate given scope for radical change.

• Path dependence in transfer*

Agenda-setting/ punctuated equilibrium

• Lessons are not just “there” – they are subject to framing when reported

• The focus of lessons is subject to competition/ selection

• The pressure to learn will depend on the position of an issue on the policy agenda

• But lessons from elsewhere may be a powerful tool to challenge existing policy monopolies

MLG and venue shift

• At which level of government does transfer take place?

• Or which type? Remember epistemic communities

Advocacy Coalition Framework

• Does coercion come from within?

• E.g. imagine 2 advocacy coalitions – one voluntary approach to tobacco, one public health

• Public health replaces voluntary as dominant coalition and successfully achieves policy change

• Is the government coerced?

Lecture Aims• What is policy transfer?• Who does it? • Why do they do it?• What do they transfer?• Where do they transfer from?• Does it work?• Normative aspects: should it happen in this form

and in this way?• Tobacco example – domestic and international

transfer• Links to previous lectures• Is policy transfer a valuable concept?