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Ex Pluribus Unum: Integrating the Different Strands of Policy Diffusion Theory

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Transfer, Diffusion und Konvergenz von Politiken

Abstract

Policy diffusion can be defined as a process in which policy choices are interdependent, that is, in which a choice made by one decision-maker influences the choices made by other decision-makers, and is in turn influenced by them. So defined, diffusion is both an old and a new phenomenon. It is old because interdependencies have always existed. The famous “Galton’s problem”, which points to the importance of interdependencies and the analytical problems following inaccurate assumptions about the independence of cases, was formulated in 1889 when Sir Francis Galton discussed a paper by Edward Tylor, a fellow anthropologist (Ross/Homer 1976: 1–2). Tylor showed a correlation between marriage laws and descent patterns, but Galton retorted that the analysis neglected the possibility of cultural diffusion among tribes. From then on, “Galton’s problem” has been discussed in all textbooks on the comparative method, though the issue has usually been neglected in empirical work.

A previous version of this paper was presented at the workshop “Transfer, Diffusion und Konvergenz von Politiken”, Centrum für Globalisierung und Governance, Universität Hamburg, 10–11 February 2006. We thank Per-Olof Busch, Helge Jörgens, an anonymous referee and the workshop participants for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Etudes Politiques et Internationales, Université de Lausanne Bâtiment Antropole, 1015 Lausanne, Schweiz

    Dietmar Braun Prof. Dr., Fabrizio Gilardi Dr. (Assistant Professor), Katharina Füglister (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) & Stéphane Luyet (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin)

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  1. Dietmar Braun Prof. Dr.
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  2. Fabrizio Gilardi Dr.
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  3. Katharina Füglister
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  4. Stéphane Luyet
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Politische Wissenschaft, Universität Hamburg, Allendeplatz 1, 20146, Hamburg

    Katharina Holzinger Prof. Dr. (Direktorin am Centrum für Globalisierung und Governance) (Direktorin am Centrum für Globalisierung und Governance)

  2. Sachverständigenrat für Umweltfragen, Reichpietschufer 60, 10785, Berlin

    Helge Jörgens (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter) (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter)

  3. Lehrstuhl für vergleichende Policy-Forschung und Verwaltungswissenschaft, Universität Konstanz, Fach D 91, 78457, Konstanz

    Christoph Knill Prof. Dr.

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Braun, D., Gilardi, F., Füglister, K., Luyet, S. (2007). Ex Pluribus Unum: Integrating the Different Strands of Policy Diffusion Theory. In: Holzinger, K., Jörgens, H., Knill, C. (eds) Transfer, Diffusion und Konvergenz von Politiken. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-90612-6_2

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