Global Public Policy studies

Globalisation has helped to intensify the international flow of people, information and policies. Following this process there has been increasing global concern regarding problems in areas such as immigration, health, poverty, among others. Various agents are transnationally engaged in common responses to these issues. The classic definition of public policies is related to actions undertaken by governments to solve the problems within their jurisdictions. However, often problems do not respect national boundaries. Sometimes, policies need to involve other nations. This article discusses the main issues, concepts and challenges in the study of global public policies.First, the article presents a review of the existing literature. Second, it introduces the key agents and agendas of global public policy. The discussion section focuses on the latest challenges and opportunities for research in Global Public Policy studies. Finally, new avenues of research are introduced, such as the dimension of power, the impact of the far-right and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reconceptualising Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in global public policy

PurposeThe paper provides historical outlook on different trends in PPPs in global public policy. The purpose of this paper is to reject the essentialist and neoliberal approach to PPPs by critically evaluating both normative and empirical arguments within existing literature.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws its methodological lineages to nonlinear historical narrative around the concept and construction of the idea and language of “PPPs”. The paper follows discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2003) to locate the way in which PPPs were incorporated within the language of global public policy.FindingsThe paper finds that most of the existing literature looks at managerial, operational, functional and essentialist aspects of PPPs. Therefore, the paper argues that critical success of PPPs depends on its social value for the common good with an emancipatory outlook.Originality/valueThe paper argues to move beyond functional aspects of PPPs and locate emancipatory possibilities within the praxis of global public policy.

Reification and praxis of public private partnerships in history

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reject the essentialist and neoliberal approach to public–private partnerships (PPPs) by critically evaluating both normative and empirical arguments within existing literature on PPPs. It explores different dynamics of PPPs in theory and practice within global public policy. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws its methodological lineages to nonlinear historical narrative around the concept and construction of the idea and language of “PPPs”. The paper follows discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2003) to locate the way in which the PPPs were incorporated within the language of global public policy. Findings The paper finds that most of the existing literature is looking at managerial, operational, functional and essentialist aspects of PPPs. Therefore, the paper argues that critical success of PPPs depends on its social value for common good with an emancipatory outlook. The study encourages future researchers to move beyond functional aspects of PPPs and locate emancipatory possibilities within the praxis of PPPs from a holistic perspective of global public policy. Research limitations/implications The existing literature on the concepts and history of PPPs locate its relevance for budgeting and development planning in developed countries and developing countries. Such literature often draws out the advantages and disadvantages of these concepts with a strong focus on the financial implications to the shareholders. However, there appears to be less emphasis on the effects of these concepts and gaps between theory and practice of PPPs. Originality/value The paper rejects the essentialist and neoliberal approach to PPPs and argues for an emancipatory approach to understand and implement PPPs.

Organized Business and Global Public Policy

Global business is organized through multiple associations, from the encompassing entities that depresent vast sections of the global business community to highly specialized bodies representing specific industries. These associations have their own private administrations and, in many cases, dispose of significant resources, which sometimes are far superior to those accumulated by intergovernmental organizations. The associations represent the negotiated positions of the relevant business groups in exchanges with intergovernmental bodies, and thus they have many opportunities to leverage public policies adopted in these forums. Some bodies are inclined to adopt business friendly policies and business associations have also important knowledge and arguments to influence policies through many kinds of participation mechanisms. In a further number of cases, associations even adopt norms and rules that become valid in governing the behaviour of business in general or in a particular sector of the economy, and they become alternatives to traditional public policy.

Global Public Policy and the Constitution of Political Authority

The prospects for policy beyond the territorial state hinge on the possibilities of constructing sites and processes of legitimate transnational political authority. To illustrate the nature of the authority challenge and how these challenges affect the policy process, the chapter investigates three pathways on which transnational political actors are expected to be present. The first pathway is via international organizations granted legal authority by their member states; the second, via private actors establishing regulatory standards for the conduct of transnational businesses; and the third, via processes of voluntary diffusion of policies across states. It argues that the authority challenges that arise in pathways one and two—about who gets to decide and via what processes—are less likely to surface in pathway three.