Conforming to global policy trends: legitimating narratives in the case of ethical policy advice

Syväterä, Jukka; Alasuutari, Pertti

doi:10.1080/19460171.2013.766020

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In national policymaking, any reform must be justified by defining a policy problem; any such definition involves causal stories explaining how the reform will solve an issue or what will happen if the reform is rejected. The fact that a model has been adopted by several countries is itself a story that can be used in national policymaking as proof of the advantageousness of adopting that model (Syväterä and Alasuutari 2013). As the analysis in this paper shows, stories about the genesis of a model are also important.…”

Section: Formation Of Global Policy Modelsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Seen from this perspective, the actual origin of a policy model is very much a result of the process by which that model is constructed. We argue that crafting and using legitimating narratives (Syväterä and Alasuutari 2013) is an important part of theorizing global models. Such narratives typically 'explain' the origin and effects of a model and give both instrumental and moral rationales for their adoption.…”

Section: Formation Of Global Policy Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ghostwriting of a global policy script: international organizations and the discursive construction of conditional cash transfers

Heimo

Syväterä

2021

Critical Policy Studies

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More than 60 countries have implemented a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. The predominant CCT narrative begins from programs created in Mexico and Brazil in the mid-1990s. The literature concerned with CCTs tends to take this narrative as a given. In this article, we examine the role of international organizations (IOs) in the global governance of social policy by exploring the use of narratives as a strategy IOs employ to claim and generate legitimacy for global policy models. We investigate how the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Food Policy Research Institute have discursively constructed the CCT model in their policy documents and thus crafted the CCT narrative. Our analysis sheds light on 'ghost-writing' i.e., the IOs practice of concealing their central role in writing scripts for policy models. Thus, our case adds a novel aspect to the existing scholarship on the global proliferation of policies.

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Section: Formation Of Global Policy Modelsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Formation Of Global Policy Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ghostwriting of a global policy script: international organizations and the discursive construction of conditional cash transfers

Heimo

Syväterä

2021

Critical Policy Studies

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“…Earlier research conducted within epistemic governance scholarship has shown that the local adoption of global policy models is typically preceded by a negotiation in which various actors wishing to influence national policymaking debate the status of national systems and of desired policy decisions (e.g. Alasuutari, 2016; Syväterä and Alasuutari, 2013). In their attempts to exert influence, policy actors construct and appeal to facts, principles or entities that they assume others deem unavoidable determinants of the situation, or they cite sources assumed to lend credibility to the claims and proposals made.…”

Section: The Epistemic Governance Perspective On Ios’ Authority Buildingmentioning

confidence: 99%

International organizations establishing their scientific authority: Periodizing the legitimation of policy advice by the OECD

Rautalin

Syväterä

Vento

2020

International Sociology

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This article contributes to the periodization of ‘scientization’ by scrutinizing how international organizations (IOs) have evolved into such scientific authorities as many of them are today. The authors examine the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and its Economic Surveys during the period 1965–2015. The study sheds light on how scientific authority manifests in IOs’ reporting and policy recommendations directed at national governments. First, the analysis scrutinizes how science figures rhetorically in reports. Secondly, it focuses on policy recommendations and their connection to the scientific content of these reports. The results show that although the reports were portrayed as ‘scientific’ already in the 1960s, in the 2000s the reporting clearly shifted from the language of economics towards more popularized consulting language. The authors argue that these changes are due to the OECD’s reactions to transformations in the wider institutional environment and occasioned by its endeavours to appear as a significant actor in knowledge-based policymaking.

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“…In the field of bioethics, bioethics structures in the form of NBCs, IRBs, and RECs, represent institutionalised action to address issues arising in the course of research and are currently found at national and institutional levels worldwide. The United States convened its first NBC in 1974 (US Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.), and most Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries followed throughout the 1990s with at least 26 of its 30 members having national committees in place by 2002 (Syväterä and Alasuutari, 2013). Rwabihama, Girre, and Duguet's (2010) study noted that most of the committees formed in sub-Saharan Africa emerged between 1974 and 2003.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Functionalists frame these committees' creation as a lever established to address scandals arising in the course of biomedical research and to, therefore, protect citizens (Syväterä and Alasuutari, 2013). The committees are granted legitimate powers to work proactively to circumvent public harm by examining, debating, and influencing policy surrounding biomedical research (Salter and Salter, 2007).…”

Section: Functionalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture, Actors, and Resources Surrounding Undergraduate Bioethics Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bruce

2019

IJAHE

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Scientisation is a growing trend as individuals worldwide harness scientific tools and knowledge to solve problems. This phenomenon is evident in biomedical research, which has increased across sub-Saharan Africa, and when encountering bioethical issues arising during the course of such research. This research synthesis considers how the constructs of culture, actors, and resources in the region shape undergraduate bioethics education. Using a lens of sociological neo-institutionalism, taken-for-granted bioethical scripts, like informed consent and medical confidentiality, are evident in this education; however, actual implementation demonstrates the way they are often adapted and contextualized with implications for students and instructors, and ultimately patients and research participants. The education considered is that for undergraduates in health sciences and medicine because they are prominent actors in research and clinical practice across the region. In considering insights from this literature, the aim is to positively impact health across sub-Saharan Africa. Le phénomène de scientifisation est de plus en plus répandu : partout dans le monde, les individus s’emparent des outils et connaissances scientifiques pour résoudre des problèmes. C’est particulièrement visible dans le domaine de la recherche biomédicale, qui se développe dans toute l’Afrique subsaharienne, et lorsqu’on considère les questions bioéthiques qui se posent au cours desdites recherches. La présente recherche explore la façon dont les concepts de culture, d’acteurs et de ressources dans la région influencent l’enseignement de la bioéthique durant le premier cycle universitaire. A travers le prisme d’un néo-institutionnalisme sociologique, on constate que les écrits fondateurs de la bioéthique, tels que le consentement éclairé et le secret médical, sont des composantes évidentes de cet enseignement. Cependant, leur mise en oeuvre sur le terrain révèle que ces principes sont souvent adaptés et contextualisés, ce qui a des conséquences pour les étudiants, les formateurs et à terme les patients et les personnes qui participent aux recherches. Cet article se concentre sur l’enseignement du premier cycle universitaire dans les domaines des sciences de la santé et de la médecine, qui sont des acteurs incontournables de la recherche et de la pratique clinique dans la région. En prenant en compte les apports de la littérature, l’objet de cette recherche est d’avoir un impact positif sur le secteur de la santé en Afrique subsaharienne.

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Conforming to global policy trends: legitimating narratives in the case of ethical policy advice

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

The ghostwriting of a global policy script: international organizations and the discursive construction of conditional cash transfers

The ghostwriting of a global policy script: international organizations and the discursive construction of conditional cash transfers

International organizations establishing their scientific authority: Periodizing the legitimation of policy advice by the OECD

Culture, Actors, and Resources Surrounding Undergraduate Bioethics Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

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