Abstract:
Globalisation, the ever increasing economic and socio-political
international interactions, poses challenges to public policy theory
and practice. This paper aims to (a) draw an outline of a discussion
and research agenda for theorizing the policy process under globalisation, by (b) identifying some theoretical consensus across
disciplines and epistemological paradigms. The literature shows
a consensus on ‘constrained’ state thesis and that globalisation
affects all states through structural pressures as well as the neoliberal discourse. However, policy outcomes vary across states
depending on their position in the international power structure
and domestic adjustment costs. The paper concludes that policy
studies shall focus on the changing functions and organisational
forms of the state and explicitly incorporate domestic–international
interactions into the theories of the policy process.