The growing technical uncertainties and complexities of problems of global concern have made international policy coordination not only increasingly necessary but also increasingly difficult. If decision makers are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of a specific problem, how do they define state interests and develop viable solutions? What factors shape their behavior? Under conditions of uncertainty, what are the origins of international institutions? And how can we best study the processes through which international policy coordination and order emerge? While a variety of analytic approaches have been used to address the problems of international cooperation, the approaches have yielded only fragmentary insights. At its core, the study of policy coordination among states involves arguments about determinism versus free will and about the ways in which the international system is maintained and transformed. Among the overlapping topics of debate are whether national behavior is determined or broadly conditioned by system-level factors, unit-level factors, or some complex interplay between the two; whether state policymakers can identify national interests and behave independently of pressures from the social groups they nominally represent; and whether states respond consistently to opportunities to create, defend, or expand their own wealth and power, to enhance collective material benefits, or to promote nonmaterial values.' A related question of

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Introduction: epistemic communities and international policy coordination

The talk with present the key results of the IPCC Working Group III 5th assessment report. Concluding four years of intense scientific collaboration by hundreds of authors from around the world, the report responds to the request of the world's governments for a comprehensive, objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change. The report has been extensively reviewed by experts and governments to ensure quality and comprehensiveness.

Climate change 2014 - Mitigation of climate change

In recent years there has been a growing body of literature within political science and international studies that directly and indirectly uses, discusses and analyzes the processes involved in lesson-drawing, policy convergence, policy diffusion and policy transfer. While the terminology and focus often vary, all of these studies are concerned with a similar process in which knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in one political setting (past or present) is used in the development of policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in another political setting.

Given that this is a growing phenomenon, it is something that anyone studying public policy needs to consider. As such, this article is divided into four major sections. The first section briefly considers the extent of, and reasons for, the growth of policy transfer. The second section then outlines a framework for the analysis of transfer. From here a third section presents a continuum for distinguishing between different types of policy transfer. Finally, the last section addresses the relationship between policy transfer and policy “failure.”

Learning from Abroad: The Role of Policy Transfer in Contemporary Policy‐Making

▶ Addresses a wide range of timely environment, economic and energy topics ▶ A forum to review, analyze and stimulate the development, testing and implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies at regional, national and global scales ▶ Contributes to real-time policy analysis and development as national and international policies and agreements are discussed and promulgated ▶ 94% of authors who answered a survey reported that they would definitely publish or probably publish in the journal again

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change

It has always existed but there can be no doubt that the rapid growth in communications of all types since the Second World War has accelerated the process. Not surprisingly, the increase in policy transfer has led to the development of interest in the topic among students of comparative politics and public policy. This article reviews this literature which is of two types. First, there are studies which do not use the concept but which often throw considerable light on policy transfer. Second, there is a growing body of material dealing specifically with the process. Both types of study are now common. As an example, the June 1994 edition of Political Studies included two articles dealing with the issues discussed here. Walsh’s examination of exchange rate policy in France and Germany is a good representative of the first type of study. He does not discuss transfer, but shows how international capital flows gave rise to tensions in the European Monetary System which, in turn, led to policy convergence. In contrast, Coleman’s analysis of policy convergence in banking directly addressed the question of how international economic changes affect policy goals, policy content, policy instruments and policy style. The aim of this article is to present a critical review of the literature on policy transfer in order to both introduce the topic to a wider audience and contribute to its development. Our review is both narrower and broader than the major existing review by Bennett.* Bennett’s approach is broader in that he concentrates upon the general pattern of convergence between the policies adopted by nations. In contrast, our focus is more narrowly upon the transfer of specific policies as a result of strategic decisions taken by actors inside and outside government. At the same time however, our approach is broader, particularly because we:

Who Learns What from Whom: a Review of the Policy Transfer Literature

This article analyzes the American influence on Canadian environmental regulation in order to show the international sources of domestic public policy, especially the manner in which Canadian policy development is influenced by the United States, and the specific dynamics of Canadian regulatory policy. The United States influences Canadian domestic public policy by the export of costs and the export of knowledge. An analysis of major developments in the areas of air pollution, water pollution, pesticides, toxic substance regulation, and environmental impact assessment demonstrates that American influence over Canadian environmental regulation is pervasive. The most frequent pattern is emulation, where value convergence combined with U.S. leadership leads to Canadian borrowing of U.S. policy innovations. This process can be either elite-driven or activist-driven, the latter being characterized by an enlarged scope of conflict, media exposure, and pressure campaigns on policymakers.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0143814X00004955

Sleeping with an Elephant: The American Influence on Canadian Environmental Regulation*

Privileging the sub-sector: critical sub-sectors and sectoral relationships in forest policy-making

The book's primary aim is to determine whether Canada and the United States have become more similar as their economies have become more integrated and their societies more diverse. The authors conclude that, although powerful economic and social pressures clearly constrain national governments and lead to convergence in some areas, distinctive cultural and political processes preserve room for distinctive national responses to important problems of the late twentieth century. Authors include Keith Banting, Paul Boothe (University of Alberta), Marsha Chandler (University of Toronto), George Hoberg, Robert Howse (University of Toronto), Christopher Manfredi (McGill University), George Perlin (Queen's University), Douglas Purvis (Queen's University), Richard Simeon, and Elaine Willis (consultant, Toronto).

Degrees of freedom : Canada and the United States in a changing world

(2001). Globalization and policy convergence: Symposium overview. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice: Vol. 3, Globalization and Policy Convergence, pp. 127-132.

Globalization and policy convergence: Symposium overview

Preface Introduction The New Deal Regulatory Regime The Rise of the Pluralist Regulatory Regime The Transformation of Air Pollution Regulation, 1969-1975 The Institutionalization of Legalism: Air Pollution, 1975-1980 The Transformation of Pesticide Regulation: 1969-1975 Regime Vulnerability and Policy Retrenchment: Pesticide Regulation, 1975-1980 Reaganism Confronts Legalism Conclusion: Pluralism by Design Bibliography Index

George Hoberg

Papers

Sleeping with an Elephant: The American Influence on Canadian Environmental Regulation*

Privileging the sub-sector: critical sub-sectors and sectoral relationships in forest policy-making

Degrees of freedom : Canada and the United States in a changing world

Globalization and policy convergence: Symposium overview

Pluralism By Design: Environmental Policy and the American Regulatory State