Fast policy: experimental statecraft at the thresholds of neoliberalism

Abstract

This paper discusses the theoretical and methodological contributions of 'Fast Policy: Experimental Statecraft at the Thresholds of Neoliberalism' by Peck and Theodore (2015, University of Minnesota Press). It does so by situating the book in the ongoing debate on policy borrowing and lending in the field of comparative education, of which I have been a part. Arguably it is the body of literature in education policy studies that relates directly to the policy phenomena explored in the book, and hence the implications of the book for educational researchers can be most appreciated by situating it in this body of scholarship. I begin by briefly reviewing this ongoing debate in the field of comparative education, identifying key points of contention, as well as the conceptual gains made throughout the debate. And then I turn to the recent 'spatial turn' in the field, which has raised a number of questions about the underlying assumptions of the debate itself. Then I move on to identify the key methodological and theoretical insights that 'Fast Policy' offers in light of this debate, articulating how the book can be read to open up new lines of analyses in comparative education scholarship.