Normative policy diffusion

Under which conditions does public policy based on particular normative assumptions spread from one country to other countries and to the supranational level? In this project, I attempt to identify necessary conditions for the diffusion of this specific type of public policy. The literature on policy diffusion so far has neglected the particularities of a successful diffusion process of normative public policy. I argue that in this case, a two-level diffusion process is in effect: (1) the more functional adoption of the policy as fitting approach for a public policy question, and (2) the potential norm adoption. Here, I investigate the case of the recent popularity of the ``Swedish model'' across Europe. This prostitution policy approach is centered around criminalizing the buyer, but not the seller of sex. It classifies prostitution as violence against women which needs to be abolished to achieve gender equality. Since its emergence in Sweden in 1999, two other European countries adopted this approach, two others currently discuss its adoption, and the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution specifying the Swedish model as EU perspective on prostitution. I propose three preliminary hypotheses and plan to explore these further by analysing parliamentary debates, media discussions, and potentially information collected from focus group surveys or elite interviews in the five selected cases Northern Ireland, the European Parliament, France, Germany, and Switzerland (two policy adaptors, one mixed approach, and two policy rejectors). Eventually, I strive to connect the existing theories on policy and norm diffusion with this project.