Policy issues are increasingly cross-cutting. Policy integration has therefore become a fashionable concept among policy-makers at domestic and international levels. Theoretically, the article facilitates a deeper understanding of the concept of policy integration. Empirically, this article analyses food safety policy integration in the European Union (EU). Three different historical phases are identified here. The central argument is that the way cross-cutting policy issues are integrated within policy sectors affects the opportunities for effective integration of these issues across different policy sectors.* The authors would like to thank the anonymous JCMS referees, Svein Ole Borgen and Morten Egeberg for their comments on earlier drafts. We are also indebted to Jessica Duncan for her research assistance.

This comparative study analyses how the state alcohol monopoly systems in Finland, Norway and Sweden were affected by interaction with the European Union (EU). Pressures from the EU, as well as the contrasting domestic responses in this process, are viewed in relation to how these institutions were integrated in terms of consistency, interdependence and structural connectedness. The article goes beyond the frequent observation that external scrutiny and pressures challenge national policy coherence to show that domestic public policies also may emerge more coherent and integrated. It is suggested that the relationship between the way public policies are integrated, categorized and re-categorized provides important insights towards our understanding of the dynamics of public policy.

The impact of Europeanization on Nordic alcohol control policies can occur through three main processes: 'positive activist reform', 'negative reform', and 'reform by indirect (de facto) pressure'. In this article the significance of each of these processes has been considered, and based on this discussion, it emerges that the effects have mainly occurred through negative reforms or indirect pressure. Through these processes, the state alcohol monopoly systems have been deregulated and liberalized, and the price levels of alcoholic beverages have been lowered and are currently under pressure to be further reduced. The impact of Europeanization on Nordic alcohol control policies have to a large degree been the same for the EU members Finland and Sweden, as for Iceland and Norway, due to their participation in the EEA Agreement. The activist role of the courts and the dominance of negative reforms within the single market are crucial.

Purpose – On-premise trading hours are generally decided at the local level. The purpose of this paper is to identify relevant advocacy coalitions and to assess to what extent and how these coalitions used research in the alcohol policy-making process concerning changes in on-premise trading hours in Norway. Design/methodology/approach – Theory-driven content analyses were conducted, applying data from city council documents (24 Norwegian cities) and Norwegian newspaper articles and broadcast interviews (n=138) in 2011-2012. Findings – Two advocacy coalitions with conflicting views and values were identified. Both coalitions used research quite extensively – in the public debate and in the formal decision-making process – but in different ways. The restrictive coalition, favouring restricted trading hours and emphasising public health/safety, included the police and temperance movements and embraced research demonstrating the beneficial health/safety effects of restricting trading hours. The liberal coalition of conservative politicians and hospitality industry emphasised individual freedom and industry interests and promoted research demonstrating negative effects on hospitality industry turnover. This coalition also actively discredited the research demonstrating the beneficial health/safety effects of restricting trading hours. Originality/value – Little is known about how local alcohol policy-making processes are informed by research-based knowledge. This study is the first to analyse how advocacy coalitions use research to influence local alcohol policy-making.

Policy integration has become a fashionable concept among policy-makers at national and international levels over the last two decades, and both Canada and the European Union have adopted food safety policy integration as a central objective. This comparative study analyses how this objective has played out in the recent reforms of the Canadian and EU food inspection systems. The article argues that similar patterns of integration can be identified along the vertical dimension as a result of the development of stronger policy and program coordination capacities at the centre. In terms of horizontal integration, the EU food inspections system appears more consistent, interdependent, and structurally connected around the overriding food safety objective of protecting the health of the population.