Policy making is more globally connected today than ever before. Policy ideas, experiences and expertise circulate rapidly over great distances. But who is involved in distributing policy, how do they do it, and through which arenas? This book examines the work involved in policy circulation, and as the first genuinely transdisciplinary collection on policy circulation, it offers an insight into the globally dispersed yet interconnected nature of contemporary policy making and the transdisciplinary future of policy circulation studies.

Bringing together international scholars and multidisciplinary perspectives, this book showcases theoretical approaches from across the social sciences, and offers empirical perspectives from around the world. Synthesizing related literatures on policy transfer, diffusion and mobility, and assessing their differences and commonalities, this book proposes ways to foster transdisciplinary dialogue. Including a range of case studies, from both the Global North and South, Public Policy Circulation provides a succinct understanding and critique of the Global policy transfer, diffusion and mobility through the lens of arenas, agents and actions.

This book will be a vital tool for academics and students of political science, public policy, public administration, international relations, geography, urban studies, sociology and anthropology alike, with its up-to-date coverage of contemporary policy circulation, and developments in the theory of global policy movement and adoption. It will also be of interest to practitioners in government agencies and NGOs, providing insight into their increasing role in both the national and international transfer and dispersal of policies.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

‘Policy diffusion, then policy transfer and now “policy circulation”. The movement of policy not only across countries but also across time, between policy sectors and through different arenas of governance is a defining feature of our times. This book captures the circulation – how policy is trafficked and transformed in the process of its movement across these dimensions. A 'tour de force', this book is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how and why policy moves.’

– Diane Stone, Centenary Professor, University of Canberra, Australia

‘In Public Policy Circulation: Arenas, Agents and Actions Tom Baker and Chris Walker have gathered together an impressive set of authors, who surgically dissect the actors and arenas in which policy transfer occurs. In doing this, the collected work offers new insights into how policies circulate around the globe. Importantly, the collection is one of the first to focus on the role of south-to-south and south-to-north policy transfers. This alone, makes this text a required reading for anyone interested in the circulation of policies that are increasingly shaping the global policy fora.’

– David P. Dolowitz, University of Liverpool, UK