The national origins of policy ideas : knowledge regimes in the United States France Germany and Denmark Examines how knowledge regimes are organized operate and have changed over the last thirty years in the United States France Germany and Denmark. They show how there are persistent national differences in how policy ideas are produced. Some countries do so in contentious politically partisan ways while others are cooperative and consensus oriented. They find that while knowledge regimes have adopted some common practices since the 1970s tendencies toward convergence have been limited and outcomes have been heavily shaped by national contexts.