Unit 2
The New Globalized Context of Canadian Public Policy

Unit 2 introduces students to the economic, political and cultural dimensions of the processes of globalization. There is a considerable literature on globalization, and a great deal of this work teaches us something about the consequences of globalization for the state and public policy. Only a small proportion of this literature, however, is rooted in the traditions of policy studies. With this in mind, four very different readings on globalization have been assigned for Unit 2. The first examines the globalization phenomenon from the perspective of studies in international relations, or global politics. The second reading takes up many of the same themes, but within a policy studies framework. The third reading tackles the task of linking globalization to policy studies by elaborating the concept of the ‘internationalization of public policy’. The final reading continues the emphasis on how globalization is influencing public policy, but also examines how globalization has altered the organization and purposes of our modern public bureaucracies.

The purpose of Unit 2, like that of Unit 1, is to give students background information. Rather than exploring the processes of policy-making, the focus shifts to the context of policy-making. It will be clear that the new globalized context of policy-making is characterized by economic restructuring, cultural change, and the popularization of new approaches to governance. You should keep in mind that this was the context of policy-making throughout the 1980s and 1990s when Canadian governments undertook the dramatic changes in social policy that are the subject of many of the assigned readings in Governance 403/Global Studies 403.

Learning Objectives

When you have completed Unit 2 you should be able to achieve the following learning objectives.

1. Discuss the globalized context of public policy in a manner that distinguishes between economic, political and culture dimensions of globalization.
2. Comment on the ways that globalization has altered the power, capacities, goals and purposes of states, including the Canadian state.
3. Explain how globalization has altered the character and focus of social movement politics and, as part of your explanation, distinguish between the politics of identity and recognition, on the one hand, and the socially conservative politics of reactive social movements, on the other.
4. Discuss the main policy imperatives and policy constraints associated with the new globalized context of Canadian public policy, and explain what is meant by the ‘internationalization’ or ‘globalization’ of public policy.