RegNet scholars contribute to global policy dialogue at ICPP 2025

The 7th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP7) was held at Chiang Mai, Thailand from 2-4 July 2025. Organised by The International Public Policy Association (IPPA) in collaboration with Chiang Mai’s University School of Public Policy, the event brought together leading scholars for three plenary sessions and a wide range of multi-session presentations.

Professor Sharon Friel, Professor Christian Downie, Dr Hridesh Gajurel, Mutiara Indriani and Roxana Tompea from the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) attended and presented at the conference. Below are some key topics discussed and reflections from our attendees.

Shaping Tomorrow: Public Policy as a Catalyst for Fair, Sustainable, and Healthy Market Practices

The panel explored the multifaceted role of public policy in steering market behaviours to address global challenges such as climate change, inequality, technological disruption and post-pandemic recovery. Panellists offered diverse perspectives across sectors and regions, highlighting how targeted policy interventions can help steer markets towards fairer, more sustainable and healthier societies.

Professor Friel’s presentation on Financialisation: a 21st century commercial determinant of planetary health equity explored key plausible pathways via which the financialisation of advanced economies influences planetary health equity. She highlighted how the growing power of financial capital and investor-driven corporate behaviour exacerbates social inequality, environmental harm and uncertainty in public goods provision. This posed major challenges to planetary health equity.

Dr Gajurel presented on The Role of Ideational Change in Making Corporate Governance Institutions More Stakeholder-Oriented, exploring the possibility of a paradigm shift in corporate governance from shareholder primacy towards stakeholder orientation in the Anglosphere and the central role of ideational contestability in changing the paradigm. Specifically, he highlighted how the legal and normative status given to stock-market-based shareholders in Anglo-liberal market economies like the US, UK, and Australia is highly contestable, even within the terms of the dominant capitalist paradigm, and how this contestability is key to transforming corporate governance and, in turn, corporate behaviour to be more in line with sustainability and equity goals.

“There seemed to be much pessimism among scholars at the conference given the current state of the world, which was particularly palpable in the plenary sessions. Policy scholars appear to be increasingly coming to the view that academics have a role in more directly addressing real-world problems, which might include taking a more normative and solution-oriented approach to research,” he said.

PhD scholar Mutiara Indriani spoke on The Role of the State, Access to COVID-19 Vaccines, and Technology Transfer in Southeast Asia. She discussed the role of state actors in shaping equitable COVID-19 vaccine access in Southeast Asia through technology transfer, focusing on Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. She examined how states balance industrial policy with public health, revealing diverse yet converging strategies to build vaccine systems. Her comparative study highlights how a set of formal mechanisms—such as regulatory flexibilities, financing, and public–private partnerships—and informal networks—ranging from diaspora collaborations to personal relationships—enable or inhibit state-led initiatives. By moving beyond traditional IP frameworks, her research shows how Southeast Asian states can help fill critical gaps in pandemic preparedness and response.

Climate Policy as Elusive Politics: Conflicts, Opposition and Obstruction

Professor Downie presented in the plenary roundtable session on Climate Policy as Elusive Politics: Conflicts, Opposition and Obstruction. This session examined a growing body of research on obstruction and opposition to climate policy, aiming to sharpen the analytical focus on the complexities of climate politics and policymaking. Speakers explored the networks of state and non-state actors working to slow or block climate action; critical conflicts that go beyond fossil fuel extraction; and the role of politics in scientific bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Industry Regulation and Governance in the Age of Re-Emerging Industrial Policy: Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation, and Government Oversight

This panel explored the evolving relationship between industry regulation and governance amid the re-emergence of industrial policy. As state-driven industrial policy gains renewed prominence globally, governments are increasingly shaping market outcomes through regulatory interventions. At the same time, there has also been a rise in self-regulation and hybrid co-regulatory frameworks, especially in sectors characterised by rapid technological change.

PhD scholar Roxana Tompea presented virtually on Regulating Food Sustainability: Insights from a Comparative Study of Greenwashing in Ultra-Processed Foods. Her analysis focused on the confectionery sector in Bulgaria, Italy and Romania, covering over 4,000 regulatory instruments. She identified two dominant forms of regulation—command-and-control and self-regulation—with most legislative and policy documents focusing either on consumer protection and empowerment or on ensuring competition and fair commercial practices. The study highlighted persistent regulatory gaps that allow environmental claims to be used without adequate evidence or oversight, with greenwashing emerging as a growing concern.

“In some cases, command-and-control regulation has gained growing traction in response to the lack of regulatory frameworks addressing new technologies and production of chemicals. While self-regulation remains prominent, particularly where industry has led the development of standards, recent trends suggest a shift toward more stringent regulatory oversight, especially where public health and environmental safety are core issues,” she said.

The ICPP7 provided a valuable opportunity for RegNet scholars to exchange ideas, build connections and contribute to global policy discussions.