Abstract
In this chapter, Tonia Bieber constructs an original theoretical framework guided by research on soft governance, international organizations, and domestic political institutions to gain insights into the relationship between international initiatives—the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment study, the Bologna process, and the Copenhagen process—and domestic reforms in education policy. It is argued that the external reform impulses are able to shape national policy output by fostering international regulatory competition and transnational communication. However, it is assumed that domestic veto players may hamper reforms inspired by the international actors.
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Bieber, T. (2016). Soft Governance and Voluntary Policy Convergence: A Theoretical Framework. In: Soft Governance, International Organizations and Education Policy Convergence. Transformations of the State. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47695-1_3
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