Focusing on developments in research on language education policy, this introduction to the thematic special issue begins with a sketch of the new problem space emerging at the intersection of intensified transnational mobility, expanding economic neo-liberalisation and institutionalised of multilingualism. It then identifies situated practice, commodification and declining state authority as key perspectives and themes in the study of language policy, and outlines the methods required to address these. After that, it provides an overview of the articles in which these issues are addressed.