NEW FRONTIERS AND DIRECTIONS IN POLICY TRANSFER, DIFFUSION AND CIRCULATION RESEARCH: AGENTS, SPACES, RESISTANCE, AND TRANSLATIONS
Abstract Policy transfer, diffusion and circulation studies are a fertile ground for innovation in public policy analysis. In a globalized world, where state boundaries are permeable and public policy travels transnationally, the diffusion of policies is what naturally connects domestic to international policy. Te recent surge of publications in the feld consolidated an important and dense body of knowledge. However, afer years of research, there now seems stasis if not stagnation, with relatively little conceptual innovation. In this article we propose to address fresh avenues for future research, considering what needs to be better understood in the policy diffusion phenomenon. Te new frontiers to be explored are not only associated to heuristic dimensions of the feld, but also to empirical dynamics that emerged in the past years. We highlight six new frontiers for policy transfer and diffusion research: (1) the role of the private sector and consultants; (2) internationalization of domestic coalitions; (3) transnational spaces and transfer agents; (4) policy translation; (5) resistance to transfer; and (6) South-South or South-North transfers.