Week 8 Advocacy Coalitions and Collaborative Governance: Flashcards
What are state-society relationships?
They are institutionalized, sustained, and mutually dependent relationships between government and non-state actors.
Why are state-society relationships increasingly important?
Governments are tackling complex issues (e.g., homelessness) and must collaborate with non-state actors to be effective.
What key questions guide the analysis of state-society relationships?
- How to conceptualize the relationships?
- How do different patterns affect outcomes?
- How to manage/nurture these relationships?
What is the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF)?
A framework that analyzes policy change over time through the lens of belief-driven coalitions within policy subsystems.
Why was the ACF developed?
To address the limitations of the policy cycle model, including its linearity and lack of attention to long-term change and subsystem dynamics.
What is a policy subsystem in ACF?
A group of actors from multiple sectors (gov, academia, media, interest groups) involved in a specific policy area.
What are advocacy coalitions?
Groups of actors in a policy subsystem who share core beliefs and coordinate to influence policy.
What are the types of advocacy coalitions?
Dominant (more legal power, status quo) and Minority (pushing for change).
What is the three-tiered belief structure in ACF?s
A: 1. Deep Core Beliefs (worldview)
2. Policy Core Beliefs (worldview applied to issue)
3. Secondary Beliefs (implementation details)
Which belief tier is hardest to change?
Deep Core Beliefs – broad, normative, and deeply held.
What are the four pathways to policy change in ACF?
- External shocks
- Internal events
- Policy-oriented learning
- Negotiated agreement/hurting stalemate
What is a “hurting stalemate”?
When opposing coalitions see the status quo as unacceptable and collaborate for change.
example: Greenbelt conflict—environmental and agricultural coalitions united to oppose development due to worsening sprawl.
ACF in Practice: Alberta’s Water Act – who were the coalitions?
Dominant: Agricultural (Alberta Irrigation Projects Association)
Minority: Environmentalists (focused on conservation)
What is Collaborative Governance?
A governance model involving joint decision-making between government and non-state actors.
Example of collaborative governance in practice?
Metro Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness.
