Public policy education in Asia: convergence and divergence

Asia's global rise highlights a host of policy opportunities and challenges. Historically, the region's developmentalist governments were single-minded of purpose, aiming principally for rapid economic growth. As growth stabilized and economies matured, a variety of other concerns - environmental, social, and political, among others - began to warrant policy intervention. Public administrators in Asia now operate in a setting of increasing complexity amidst an array of conflicting policy mandates. Accordingly, policy education and training are as crucial to Asia's continued rise as they were in the early stages of emergence decades ago. This article and the special issue it introduces address several key elements characterizing the rise of policy education in Asia, including how policy educational practices have converged and diverged, how they have responded to situational mandates, and how they are now asserting a unique disciplinary identity.