The sources of laws: policy dynamics in a digital and terrorized world

We often assume that policy and laws are the outcome of national deliberative discourse. As we have seen with other domains such as intellectual property and trade, policies that influence privacy and civil liberties are increasingly resulting from international policy dynamics. This article presents a number of these policy mechanisms used to take advantage of international dimensions of our current environment. These mechanisms include policy laundering, modeling, and forum shifting. Using these mechanisms, policies are being developed outside of national deliberative forums and then adopted locally in the interests of national governments. A number of policy instances are presented, tracing the influence of national and international actors, and the implications for national discourse. The article concludes with discussion of some implications for an open society.