ABSTRACT
Scholars increasingly appreciate the impact of the global policy environment on administrative and policy processes and outcomes in both developed and developing nations worldwide (e.g., Cleveland, 1993; Haas et al., 1995; Jackson, 1990; Litfin, 1998; Wapner, 1996). As Welch and Wong (1998, p. 43) argue, ‘‘governments and their bureaucracies are not only [acutely] aware of global pressures for change and reform, they are increasingly making decisions that incorporate global constraints and opportunities into their own domestic agendas.’’ Indeed, some scholars argue that in various policy areas, global agreements, institutions, and regulatory regimes (e.g., the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Agenda 21) ‘‘may have even greater influence on a country’s economy than any of the domestic economic institutions in each individual country’’ (Welch & Wong, 1998, p. 45). They aver, as well, that global policy pressures like these can ‘‘create more tension [in nations] between administration and democracy, and pose serious questions [regarding] the foundation of legitimacy in public administration’’ (Welch & Wong, 1998, p. 45). At the same time, however, they also demonstrate in subsequent research on the impact of global technology that domestic context has a powerful mediating effect on global pressures (Welch & Wong, 2001).
