A system and method are disclosed for enforcing a normalized set of policy-based behaviors across two or more disparate client devices. The policy definition can be a common description of expected behavior, while a client-side policy engine interprets and implements platform specific details associated with the client. In one embodiment, a client device receives a generic policy definition from a network. The generic policy definition is applicable to disparate device types having different hardware and/or software platforms. A client policy engine can analyze the generic policy definition, compare it to client-side applications or functions and make intelligent decisions on how to apply the policy for the specific client.