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GPS Articles 
Regulating Biomedicine in Belgium and France: Neighboring Countries, Diverging Policies
NATHALIE SCHIFFINO and FRÉDÉRIC VARONE
GPS, Vol. 3 No. 4,
(2006)
Theories of policy convergence and transnational policy transfer let us expect that Belgium and France formulated and implemented similar policies in the field of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and biomedical research. Nevertheless the article proves that the policy outcome strongly differs. It presents five factors that contribute to explaining the divergence: the actor networks within the policy sector, the game of political parties within specific governments the role of administrative agencies in unitary versus federal states, the reaction towards international pressure and the political sequencing of bioethical issues other than ART.
