Global policy diffusion as a socially constructed process
Insights from Unesco Creative Cities Network’s shift towards the Global South
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6299745 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Biyun Zhu (0000-0002-2587-296X, University of Manchester, corresponding author), Xuefei Li (0000-0001-5074-9245, University of International Business and Economics) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 454-473 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0192-5121 • E-ISSN: 1460-373X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/01925121241281942 |
| OpenAlex | W4403195648 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
This study examines the diffusion of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, focusing on the dynamics of four core diffusion mechanisms and reinterpreting them within a multi-agent framework. This approach enhances understanding of policy diffusion as a socially constructed process, emphasizing the heterogeneous pathways that various agents navigate within a single mechanism. Such variances are vital for grasping the complexities of why policies diffuse or fail, aspects that often escape traditional quantitative methods. In tracing the UNESCO Creative Cities Network’s diffusion from the Global North to South, we highlight UNESCO’s pivotal role in steering diffusion to reflect its evolving priorities; how cities appropriate the UNESCO Creative Cities Network to legitimize their policy goals and actions; the differing capabilities of cities from the Global North and Global South in negotiating and adopting such a global policy; and the tendency of global policies to diffuse among countries that are culturally proximate, as demonstrated by cultural distance index
Creative Cities · Creativity · Diffusion · Economic geography · Economic system · Economics · Economy · Global South · Political science · Process (computing · Regional science · Sociology · Computer Science · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Policy Transfer and Learning · Regional Development and Policy
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| Highly cited | No |
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