European and North American Policy Change - Drivers and Dynamics

The issue of policy dynamics is a key one in policy studies and one which is particularly amenable to comparative policy research. This edited volume brings together some of the leading scholars in the field to examine the definition, conceptualization and operationalization of policy change. Drawing on empirical materials from a variety of longitudinal studies of Europe and North American policy development, this book assesses some of the major existing and unresolved issues currently challenging the discipline. It assesses existing approaches to understanding the multiplicity of drivers of policy change and provides a general map of the composite, multidimensional world of policies in action. The book features case studies on welfare reform, education reform, the World Bank, tobacco control policy, energy policy, agricultural policy, pension reform and the impact of public opinion. Features of the volume include: * A focus on both the domestic and international drivers of policy change * Contributions from internationally-renowned political scientists and policy experts * Extensive qualitative data on policy change covering a range of different topics and countries This book will be of interest to students and scholars of public policy, public administration and public management, and political science programmes worldwide.

1. Introduction: The Multidimensional World of Policy Dynamics Part I - Evaluating Existing Frameworks and Models: Empirical Tests of Multiple Models 2. Explaining the policy impact of the 1991 and the 2000 firework blasts in the Netherlands by the core of five policy change models 3. What Explains Policy Change in Tobacco Control Policy in Advanced Industrial Democracies? Part II - Domestic Drivers of Policy Change 4. "Beyond Continuity": Coalitional dynamics as drivers of gradual transformative policy change 5. Ideational Leadership and Structural Policy Change: Comparing German Welfare State Reforms 6. The Determinants of Policy Change: Advancing the Debate 7. The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy Dynamics: Exploring the determinants of change in European Policy-Making 8. Specifying the Role of Political Leadership in Energy Policy Change, 1975 – 2006 Part IV - International Drivers of Policy Change 9. Internationalization, Policy Networks and Policy Paradigm Change: The Case of Agriculture 10. International NGOs as Drivers of Policy Change: The World Bank and Pension Reforms 11. Conclusion: A Research Agenda for Policy Dynamics