ABSTRACT
This introduction provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides the first comprehensive examination of policy analysis in a comparative perspective. It covers an international meta study of the state of the art knowledge about the science, art and craft of policy analysis in different countries, at different levels of government and by all relevant actors in and outside government who contribute to the analysis of problems and the search for policy solutions. The book aims to advance the comparative knowledge of policy analysis, and it does so by a unique configuration of internationally diverse authors and internationally based evidence. It is comparative in both the international scope of the cases presented and in the overarching theoretical conclusions that are generalizable enough to be applicable for understanding the field.
