The Advocacy Coalition Framework and Implementation of the Endangered Species Act: A Case Study in Western Water Politics

Abstract

Theories about subsystem activity typically focus on policy formulation processes. One causal model of public policymaking, the advocacy coalition framework, offers a potentially useful way to bridge the gap between policy formulation and implementation in examining subsystem activity. The purpose of this paper is to assess the analytical utility of the advocacy coalition framework by examining the stability of policy‐producing coalitions over time in the face of implementation complexities. An analysis of the policy changes that occurred during the implementation of the Endangered Species Act vis‐à‐vis planning for the construction of the Bureau of Reclamation's Animas‐La Plata water project is conducted. The analysis reveals how coalitions protect their policy core beliefs during technical disputes through the acquiescence of secondary aspects of belief systems.

Economic Policy and Decision Making at the Intersection of Domestic and International Politics: The Advocacy Coalition Framework and the National Economic Council

“…This allows us to transcend rigid policy lines delineating international and domestic policy realms to suggest an intermestic process, in which economic policy exists at the intersection of those realms. In such a context, some political coalitions and alliances will exercise greater power in the policymaking process than other coalitions (Ellison, 1998;Sato, 1999). The blurring of traditional policy jurisdictions means that competition and conflict within and between coalitions is likely to intensify.…”

“…It is therefore important to distinguish the policy core from subsystem interactions over time. This results in greater attention to changes in subsystem composition and the interaction of related subsystems (Ellison, 1998). In other words, the critical element is that we distinguish nascent (forming) subsystems from mature (existing) subsystems.…”

“…The advocacy coalition framework helps to explain political interests in the NEC because it allows us to examine coalition formation, which shapes which issues are important for senior executive policymakers (Sato, 1999). The framework enables us to move beyond the assumption that economic policy follows a linear process of problem identification, agenda setting, adoption, implementation, and evaluation (Ellison, 1998).…”

The Politics of Implementing Philippine Tourism Policy: A Policy Network and Advocacy Coalition Framework Approach

“…Thus, the ACF provides moments to study policy network dynamics in at least one cycle of policy formulation, implementation through to reformulation based on experience and other mechanisms of change (Sabatier, 1986). In other words, it effectively bridges the gap between formulation and implementation (Ellison, 1998). In addition, the framework fully incorporates the ideational approach to policy-making, providing "a grounded way of understanding the importance of discourse in the political process" (John, 2003, p. 490).…”

Examining how advocacy groups build relationships on the Internet

“…Taylor et al (2001) argued these organizations should strive to ''use the Internet to its fullest potentialdialogically-to create relationships with publics'' (p. 267). Developing relationships with likeminded individuals is one of the strongest factors in becoming a successful advocate for an issue (Grunig and Grunig, 1991;Ellison, 1998;Hudson, 2002;Ni, 2006).…”