What Is Policy Convergence and What Causes It?

Assessing the ‘added value’ of European policy on new psychoactive substances

“…Furthermore, these proposals can be conceptualised as an attempt to force harmonisation of policy in member states via top-down methods of control that can be termed hard harmonisation (Bennett, 1991). Standring (2012, p.12), however, suggests that applying the principle of subsidiarity to an area "is a tacit admission that hard, legislative integration processes are not the most appropriate tools", and instead advocates more subtle methods of 'soft convergence' whereby similarity of policy is encouraged through the application of common guidelines, the sharing of instances of best practice, and the bringing together of networks of a variety of actors with interests in the area.…”

Advanced nations and environmental protection: the challenge of globalisation

“…At the same time, national governments are looking for best practice, observing other governments (Rose 1993, Bennett 1991, Kern et al 2001. Successful environmental policy innovations -the introduc tion of new institutions, instruments, or strategies-are thereby often adopted by other governments.…”

Asian Socialism and Legal Change : The dynamics of Vietnamese and Chinese Reform

“…2 To add to their weight and authority, international agencies such as the OECD and World Bank give these ideas their seal of approval (Common 2001). This global exchange of reform ideas increases policy diffusion and 'transfer' (Bennett 1991;Dolowitz and Marsh 1996;Halligan 1996). Not surprisingly then, the 'menu' of proposals and solutions shows a strong trace of conventional global public administration reform discourse.…”