1 Introduction -- Structure of the Book -- Some matters of definition -- 2. Positioning Implementation Studies -- concerns about implementation: Historical origins -- The rule of law -- The implications of the idea of democracy -- Public Administration and Public Management -- Institutional theory -- Postmodernist theory -- 3. The Top-Down/Bottom-Up Debate -- The discovery of the 'missing link' -- The classical top-down authors -- The bottom-up challenge -- 4. Implementation Theory -- The search for a synthesis -- Where does implementation begin? -- Layers in policy processes -- Networks: Broadening the horizontal dimension -- Managing performance: Redefining the vertical dimension -- Differentiating policy types -- Including responses of affected actors -- 5. Implementation and Governance -- The age of interventionism -- The age of the market and corporate government -- The age of neo-interventionism -- Assessment -- 6. Implementation Theory and the Study of Governance -- The stages model of the policy process -- Alternative analytical frameworks -- The Multiple Governance Framework -- Studying implementation as governance research -- 7. Researching Implementation -- Defining studies of implementation -- Explaining what needs explanation -- Isolating implementation -- Dealing with layers -- Specifying inter-organizational relationships -- Differentiating agency responses -- Identifying stakes -- Recognizing macro-parameters -- Quantitative versus qualitative studies -- 8. Implementation in Context -- Implementation in practice -- The quest for appropriate action -- Policy settings -- Institutional environments -- Operational governance in context -- 9. The Future of Implementation Studies -- The objective of studying implementation -- The study of governance in operation -- Promising developments.