Transnational policy transfer: the circulation of ideas, power and development models

Abstract

The study of policy transfer initially focused on transfers and transmissions among developed countries or from developed countries to the developing world. Today the circulation of policy and knowledge has become more dense and complex. The articles in the special issue concentrate on the growing velocity of policy innovations spreading from the developing world to other parts of the developing as well as into developed countries and towards international organisations. The context of international development cooperation has been particularly fertile in the cross-pollination of ideas, models and policy experiments, and the articles in this Special Issue draw deeply on this insight. Using a 'development lens' enables the authors to view processes of knowledge diffusion and policy transfer not from the centre, in the ministries of national governments, but from policy perimeters, in cities and local government, among those outside political power in opposition groups and movements, and bottom-up from policy implementers.

A prelude to policy transfer research

“…It's worth noting that with the evolution of the European Union, a specific literature arose to address policy transfer issues in the regional integration process (Bulmer et al, 2007;Radaelli, 2008; see also Chapter 17 by Coman and Tulmets in this volume). The most recent publications in the area address the dimension of time (Dolowitz et al, 2020b) and development (Stone et al, 2020), which can be considered among the current frontiers of knowledge in the area, as will be discussed in detail in section 3 of this introduction.…”

Negotiating accountability in South-South Cooperation: the case of Brazil

“…Two main issues became symbolic battlefields for the constant negotiations between the Executive and other actors inside and outside the state: first, increased state spending in social policies and, second, the role of BNDES. Both issues had very clear international/SSC interfaces: for the former, several of the social policies enhanced domestically were simultaneously internationalised through SSC Stone et al 2019), while for the latter, BNDES got increasingly involved with infra-structure projects outside Brazil, through its Exim Bank scheme, supporting Brazilian engineering companies to export their services in Latin America and Africa (Hochstetler 2014).…”

“…During the 2000s, the domestic constituency for FNS issues in Brazil has grown and secured the creation of socio-state interfaces, namely the former National Food and Nutritional Council (Consea), 8 where those actors could discuss Brazilian international food security policies. At the time, the agenda was also fostered by state/institutional activism Stone et al 2019), both nationally and internationally. Brazil partnered with the World Food Programme to establish the Centre of Excellence Against Hunger and with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to disseminate 'Brazil-grown' solutions.…”

International development cooperation as one of the triggers for the process of public policy transfer

“…Complementing these ideas, Stone, Oliveira and Pal (2019) argue that is relevant to focus on the particularities of transfer in developing countries: government structures will be different, donors and international organisations often have the whip hand; and 'aid' is itself a specific type of policy transfer with its own agencies, networks, and professional knowledge. There are also unique circumstances around the credibility of knowledge in a development context, credibility that goes beyond mere technical expertise (STONE; OLIVEIRA; PAL 2019, p. 13).…”

“…Lastly, we expect to contribute to the debates by focusing on Latin-American countries, where "the phenomenon of 'voluntary' policy transfer (…) under the rubric of South-South Cooperation (SSC) has received far less attention, despite its long history and growing importance" (CONSTANTINE; SHANKLA-ND, 2017, p. 100). Finally, as Stone, Porto de Oliveira and Pal (2019) argue:…”