Comparative Policy Studies Research Articles

Parasitical elitism in a sectarianized political system with a rentier economy: The power and practice of the Iraqi political elite after 2003

AbstractThis article theorizes the role of the elite in a sectarianized political system with a rentier economy. It argues that by virtue of the sectarian and ethnic representation of the sub‐identities, the long‐term interests of society are neglected. The reliance on natural resources creates a competition within the elite to seize the state's revenue for narrow interests. Finally, in such a setting, the elite attempts the monopolization of the flow of information to the public to shore up its legitimacy. The case study is Iraq since it is one of the few, if not the sole, sectarianized political system with a rentier economy. The political elite, despite an abysmal performance for nearly two decades, has been resilient and garnered more power. The continuous malpractice encompasses all the political players who agree on the governing rules by which they maintain their position within the system, and with limited circulation of the elite.Related ArticlesAli, Hamid E., and Shahjahan Bhuiyan. 2022. “Governance, Natural Resources Rent, and Infrastructure Development: Evidence from the Middle East and North Africa.” Politics & Policy 50(2): 408–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12451.Howie, Peter. 2018. “Policy Transfer and Diversification in Resource‐Dependent Economies: Lessons for Kazakhstan from Alberta.” Politics & Policy 46(1): 110–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12239.Khodr, Hiba. 2014. “A Preliminary Comparative Study of Policy Making in Two GCC Countries—Qatar and Kuwait: Processes, Politics, and Participants.” Politics & Policy 42(2): 271–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12068.

Comparative Studies of Russian and European Welfare Polities

The authors provide a scholarly conspectus of comparative studies involving Russian, EU8 and EU15 Welfare Polities. They elaborate the notion of the ‘welfare polity’ and its potential for enhancing comparative studies of welfare institutions, policies and practices. This is accompanied by an overview of trends in comparative studies involving Russian, EU8 and EU15 countries, along with a consideration of how comparative research involving these states can be strengthened. Gaps in the literature and evidence base, including systematic cross-national and temporal data on the design and implementation of social policies and social protection, are highlighted. A shared concern was found with the growth of division and exclusion exacerbated by global economic factors and by state-level policy shifts, a trend especially notable in Russian studies. Fruitful pointers for future research and international collaboration are indicated and the need for further comparative efforts emphasised at a challenging time for geopolitical relations.

A Comparative Study of India's Education Policy 1986 And The New Education Policy 2023: Assessing Continuities, Changes & Implications

Education has been around since man first walked the earth's surface. Education is more than just reading books and earning a degree from a university; it is the physical, mental, financial, and economic development of an individual. The goal of education is to bring about an individual's overall growth and to make him an efficient participant actively contributing to the advancement of the future nation. Every country designs its education system to reflect and support its distinct socio-cultural character, while also addressing the rising demand for employment and professional opportunities. The country has reached a point in its economic and technological development when measures must be taken to ensure that the rewards of change reach all segments of society. The National Education Policy of 1986 centred on a standardised curriculum structure comprising shared core and adaptable elements. The child-centric approach is emphasised in elementary education, followed by secondary education, which emphasises girl-child education as well as the education of minorities. The National Education Policy-2023, which was modified after 34 years, emphasises a more holistic approach with multidisciplinary courses, and students are aided with a bucket system to choose subjects that align with their interests. This research focuses on a comparison of the main characteristics of the NEPs of 1986 and 2023. A Comparative Study of India's Education Policy 1986 and the New Education Policy 2023 will be discussed in this paper.

A Scandinavian Veteran Policy? A Comparative Study of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish Veteran Policies Since 2000

A Scandinavian Veteran Policy? A Comparative Study of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish Veteran Policies Since 2000

To import or not to import: A global comparative study of energy and natural resource policies for sustainable development

Nonattainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is a pressing policy concern. The energy-led growth pattern needs a policy-level reorientation to address this concern. This present study examines the impacts of energy imports and natural resource rents on sustainable development across 127 countries over 1990–2019. The empirical model also takes account of population growth, corruption, and globalization. Using the cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) method, the results reveal that energy imports negatively influence sustainable development in both the short and long run. The utilization of domestic natural resource rents has a positive yet insignificant influence on sustainable development. The roles of population growth and globalization are found to be favorable, while corruption has a negative effect on sustainable development. The study outcomes are utilized to develop a benchmark policy design to attain sustainable development. The policy framework is designed by reorienting the energy import and natural resource rent, while calibrating the effects of population growth, corruption, and globalization.

Cross-national comparative study of orphan drug policies in Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the European Union

BackgroundRare diseases are chronic, serious, and life-threatening conditions that have not received sufficient attention from drug developers due to their rarity. Policies have been implemented to encourage research and incentivize the development of orphan drugs. However, the implementation of these policies has been inconsistent worldwide. ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study was to compare orphan drug policies in the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia (SA) and assess their impact on the number of approved indications. MethodLists of all drugs granted orphan designations and authorized for marketing in the United States, European Union, and SA were extracted using orphan drug lists available in regulatory body databases. The availability of these drugs, regarding their approval for orphan indication and designation, was assessed and classified using Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical codes. ResultA total of 792 orphan drug designations with at least one authorized indication were identified in this study. Of these, 92% were designated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and 27% were designated by the European Medicine Agency (EMA). The FDA, EMA, and Saudi Food and Drug Authority approved 753, 435, and 253 orphan drugs, respectively. ConclusionFewer orphan drug approvals were found in SA than in the United States and Europe. This highlights the need to focus on rare diseases and orphan drugs and for policies to be created in SA to attract pharmaceutical markets and fulfill unmet orphan drug approval needs.

Global diffusion ofCOVID‐19 policies: The role of geographic, institutional, and cultural cues

AbstractIn an unprecedented global crisis, like the COVID‐19 pandemic, when vertical global governance plays a relatively minor role, government leaders must obtain policy information cues from other governments' behaviors horizontally. This study builds on the policy diffusion literature to examine the distinct role of geographic, cultural, and institutional peers in influencing a country's policy adoptions throughout a diffusion episode. We theorize that in the case of COVID‐19, policy‐culture fit enhances policy learning, leading cultural cues to exert a more pronounced diffusion influence than geographic and institutional cues over time. Our empirical analysis leverages worldwide data tracking the daily adoption of nine universal COVID‐19 non‐pharmaceutical policies from January 1, 2020 to June 1, 2021 in nearly 100 countries. We show that geographic and institutional proximity are initial sources of policy cues affecting adoption. But their effects fade over time while that of cultural cues grows in the later stage of a diffusion episode, illustrating the role of policy learning fueled by cultural fit. This research deepens our understanding of policy diffusion dynamics, shedding light on the role of national culture in policymaking and design in comparative policy studies.

Health policy under the microscope: a micro policy design perspective.

The comparative study of health policy has focused mainly on the macro-structural dimensions of health systems and reforms that have sought to change these organizational arrangements. Thus, a great deal of attention has been paid to the multiple models of insurance against sickness risks and various modes of organizing and financing healthcare providers. However, little attention has been paid to policy tools and policy design in the health policy domain. This research gap largely impedes a focus on the micro (granular) dimension of health policy, although this is the level at which health policies impact reality and thus deliver progress toward the expected goals. Such a focus on the micro dimension could not only allow a finer-grained comparison of how health systems work but also shed light on how capable health policies are of achieving the expected outcomes. This paper fills this gap by presenting an analytical framework capable of illuminating the granular dimension of policy design (the instrumental delivery package) and shows the analytical relevance of the framework by applying it to the designs of maximum waiting time guarantee and vaccination mandate policies.

Systemic delays to abortion access undermine the health and rights of abortion seekers across Australia.

Systemic delays to abortion access undermine the health and rights of abortion seekers across Australia.

Preparing for the unexpected: a comparative study of policies addressing post-terror health reactions in Norway and France

BackgroundIn the wake of terrorist attacks, protecting the health and psychosocial wellbeing of those affected and the general population, are important tasks for the healthcare system. The responses to such emergencies are often complex, including different phases and many actors, and may unveil insufficiencies that incite reforms to existing systems. Recently, initiatives have been promoted to strengthen cooperation and coordination regarding the governance of health threats in Europe. Comparative research is requested on how states prepare for health emergencies such as terrorist attacks. This study investigated how governments in two European countries with universal health coverage prepared to address the civilian population’s health needs after terrorist attacks, and the factors that contributed to shaping their chosen approach.MethodsUtilizing document analysis and Walt and Gilson’s model for the analysis of health policy, national plans for post-terror health responses in Norway and France were studied with a focus on context, process, content, and actors.ResultsWhereas target groups for psychosocial care and certain measures were similar in both cases, the contents of prescribed policies and the actors responsible for enacting them differed. One of the most distinct differences was to what extent specialized mental healthcare was relied upon to provide psychosocial follow-up in the emergency phase. In the French approach, specialized mental healthcare practitioners, such as psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatric nurses, provided early psychosocial support. In contrast, the Norwegian approach relied on interdisciplinary primary care crisis teams in the local municipalities to provide early psychosocial support, with further involvement of specialized mental healthcare if this was considered necessary. Historical, political, and systemic differences contributed to the variation in the countries’ responses.ConclusionsThis comparative study highlights the complexity and diversity of health policy responses to terrorist attacks across countries. Moreover, challenges and opportunities for research and health management in response to such disasters, including possibilities and potential pitfalls for the coordination of this work across Europe. An important first step could be to map out existing services and practices across countries to better understand if and how common core elements for psychosocial follow-up might be implemented internationally.

A Comparative Study of Multi-ethnic Bilingual Education Policies in China and the UK

Multi-ethnic bilingual education policies are crucial for multi-ethnic nations in safeguarding ethnic minorities’ rights, maintaining stability and improving national cohesion. Both China and the UK are multi-ethnic countries that developed bilingual education policies. This study uses documentary, comparative and historical research methods to review the multi-ethnic bilingual education policies of the two countries and to compare their similarities and differences. The study finds that the two countries have similarities in terms of policy objectives, development processes and linguistic perspectives. However, due to the national and ethnic backgrounds and cultural differences between the two countries, there are differences in terms of legalisation and mainstream language functions. The study recommends that China should provide higher-quality bilingual education resources in ethnic minority areas. In addition, a variety of bilingual education teaching models should be provided to further help build ethnic confidence in ethnic minority areas. Finally, the Chinese government could regularly monitor the status of minority languages to protect endangered languages and valuable ethnic heritage promptly.

Canadian Public Policy: The State of the Discipline

AbstractThis article examines the state of the English-language peer-reviewed literature published over the 2011–2021 period whose objective is to describe and explain processes of development of Canadian public policies and their consequences. It first presents a profile of the surveyed literature's attention to different policy sectors, elements of public policy, and its chosen methodologies to study them. It then examines the empirical and theoretical contributions of the literature to uncovering the constitutive actors and their interactions in policy processes in policy domains of Canadian jurisdictions; the logics of chosen policy instruments and their distributive effects; and the interactions among Canada's structural, institutional and ideational features and policy actors’ motivations and behaviour with processes of policy innovation, continuity and change. A foremost contribution of Canadian policy studies to comparative policy studies is to demonstrate the causal impacts of the interaction of institutional, structural and ideational/cultural factors on processes of policy development.

A Comparative Study of Language Educational Policy in China and Western Europe

Nowadays, English has become a very important communicative tool for people from non-English-dominant countries. The Chinese government has been trying to push its residents to keep this pace for decades while recently most Western European countries try to avoid English teaching to protect their languages and cultures. Most Chinese students have to study English when they enter Grade 3. The College English Test Band 4 (CET4) has been the basic examination for Chinese students for decades and some universities will even require their students to pass CET6. Certificates of proving passing CET4 and CET6 will also offer help in job hunting. Recently, Chinese government even released the “Chinese culture go abroad” which aims to teach students how to spread Chinese cultures in English. For Western countries, Germany government want to protect their language and maintain the use of English at the same time while English academic writing continues to develop in Italy even these triggered severe debates. Now the Chinese government can see their reward after policies released for decades as it has become one of the strong competitors on academic area while the objectors in Western Europe are still working hard to defend their opinions. However, there are problems with policies released by the Chinese government as some teachers will argue that learning English cost a huge part of students’ time.

Studi Perbandingan Penanganan Pengungsi Luar Negeri Di Indonesia, Australia, Dan Thailand

Indonesia specifically addresses the refugee issues in Presidential Regulation No. 125 of 2016 on the Handling of Foreign Refugees. The handling of refugee status in Indonesia is handed over to UNHCR considering that Indonesia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol. Besides Indonesia, Australia and Thailand are also not parties to the convention. Therefore it is important to see a comparative study of policies between countries. This study also aims to find out whether Presidential Decree No. 125 of 2016 can resolve the problem of refugees in Indonesia and what is the policy comparison between Indonesia, Australia and Thailand. The research method used is normative legal research with a statutory approach. The results of the study concluded that Presidential Decree No. 125 of 2016 has adequately accommodated arrangements for overseas refugees, but there are still several provisions that have multiple interpretations, such as arrangements regarding "foreigners", Rudenim arrangements, and the principle of "local integration" that has not been regulated. The implementation in Australia is firmer compared to Thailand and Indonesia. Australia itself emphasizes forced repatriation if it is detected as threatening the country's sovereignty. Meanwhile, Thailand provides access to foreign refugees to submit applications so they can live and settle.

A Comparative Study of Early Childhood Sports Policies in China and Korea

As countries in Asia that attach great importance to sports, China and South Korea also have different development and trends in early childhood sports, and have built more distinctive characteristics and systems. With the convergence of the global educational environment and social environment, various countries have gradually learned from each other in the theoretical discussion and practical research of children's sports, learning from each other's strengths, and jointly promoting the healthy growth of young children. Therefore, the analysis and research of children's sports policies in China and South Korea not only help to improve the decision-making of early childhood education, but also help broaden the vision of early childhood sports research, which is an important strategic issue related to social development. Based on this, this paper first introduces the development of children's sports and related sports policies in China. Then, the development of early childhood sports and related sports policies in Korea was elaborated, and finally based on the comparison of early childhood sports and policies between China and South Korea, the enlightenment of China's early childhood sports development was considered, that is, attention should be paid to accelerating the formulation of regulations related to early childhood education. Actively contribute to and participate in international research and cooperation on early childhood sports; Strengthen the improvement of children's sports software and hardware, so as to better promote the continuous improvement of China's children's sports policies and promote the healthy growth and all-round development of children.

A Comparative Study of Family Policy to Fertility in Thailand and France

A Comparative Study of Family Policy to Fertility in Thailand and France

Human Resources of Research and Innovation in Indonesia: Reality, Policy Strategy, and Roadmap

This article reveals the reality, policy strategies, and roadmap plans for human resource development in Indonesia's research and innovation field. The result of human resources in a lot of research and innovation is an important one, especially after the government's commitment through the issuance of Presidential Regulation Number 18 of 2020 concerning the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) for 2020-2024 and also the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 21 of the Year 2021 concerning the National Talent Management Task Force, where research and innovation are one of the sectors developed in national talent management. This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. The investigation resulted in four aspects of concern, namely the existing conditions and the Indonesian government's experience in developing human resources in the field of research and innovation, which had been initiated since the era of President Soekarno, then the presence of a scholarship program created by Prof. Eng. BJ Habibie, who at that time served as Minister of State for Research and Technology by providing scholarships to more than 1,500 people during 1982-1996 to study in several countries which would later become talents for the national strategic industry and research and development institutions in Indonesia. The results of talent management policy mapping in the research and innovation sector are discussed in the next section. To enrich understanding, a comparative study of talent management and policy was carried out in Japan, the Philippines, and Malaysia. In the end, a proposed strategy and roadmap for implementing research talent and innovation in Indonesia are presented.

Compact City: A Comparative Study of Urban Policies

Compact City: A Comparative Study of Urban Policies

A Comparative Study of Policies on Medical Resource for COVID-19 Response: Focusing on Hospital Beds in Major Countries

A Comparative Study of Policies on Medical Resource for COVID-19 Response: Focusing on Hospital Beds in Major Countries

Comparative study of domestic and international mandatory policies on three-dimensional greening - Shenzhen as an example

With the accelerated urbanization in China, the phenomenon of insufficient green space in urban built-up areas is becoming increasingly prominent, and the construction of rooftop gardens to increase the green coverage of cities and improve the urban ecological environment has become an important element of urban construction. Taking Shenzhen as an example, this paper studies the current three-dimensional greening policies and regulations of the Shenzhen government, the three-dimensional greening policies and regulations of advanced foreign cities and analyses the problems that exist at the level of urban green space planning and policies and regulations in Shenzhen. In the course of the study, it is found that there are three problems in its, Shenzhen's three-dimensional greening policy planning: small scope of application, lack of planning elements, and low degree of compulsion, By combining the governance experiences of other cities, this paper will propose corresponding improvement solutions and optimization suggestions to address the shortcomings of urban three-dimensional greening policies from the policy level and offer suggestions for the cause of three-dimensional greening in Shenzhen.