European Policy Analysis
One increasingly popular theoretical framework that seeks to simplify the complexity of public policy is the Advocacy Coalition Framework ( ACF ). Prior work suggests that the ACF is useful as an organizing framework for identifying variables and relationships related to learning and policy change in different political systems ( Sabatier 1998 ; Weible , Sabatier , and McQueen 2009 ; Weible et al . 2011 ). However , critics have argued that the ACF , rooted in American pluralism , has limited applicability in countries with democratic corporatist traditions ( Carter 2001 ; Eberg 1997 ; John 1998 ; Parsons 1995 ). These competing claims call for comparative work to identify strengths and weaknesses in the framework , particularly in neo-corporatist settings . This study makes a contribution to this ongoing effort by reporting on an analysis of empirical ACF applications in Sweden .
The goal of the ACF is “ to provide a coherent understanding of the major factors and processes affecting the overall policy process — including problem definition , policy formulation , implementation , and revision in a specific policy domain — over periods of a decade or more ” ( Sabatier 1998 , 1350 ). The ACF has gradually evolved into an international research program in which cases from around the world have been examined using the same concepts and assumptions . As such , the ACF provides a common theoretical lens to guide and standardize data collection , which supports structured comparison across cases and countries ( Jenkins-Smith et al . 2014 ; Weible and Nohrstedt 2012 ). Internationally , the ACF is one of the most widely applied policy process frameworks . In a recent count of empirical applications from 1987 to 2013 , Jenkins-Smith et al . ( 2014 ) found 224 applications worldwide out of which 94 ( 42 percent ) involved European cases . In fact , this number is on par with applications in the United States ( n = 95 , 42 percent ), suggesting that European cases have been an important empirical base for theory testing and development within the ACF . In this study , we identify 25 case studies of policy processes in Sweden spanning a range of substantive topics . These numbers place Sweden at the top in Europe , together with the United Kingdom and Switzerland , in terms of the number of empirical applications per country . We seek to explore what these studies actually tell us about policy processes in Sweden and the validity of the ACF in this context .
Sweden , like other corporatist countries in Europe , has gone through major change regarding the terms for participation , influence , and policy change . Scholars suggest that Swedish policymaking has gradually become more open and conflictual but note that the country still retains important corporatist elements , including coordinated wage agreements , local-level interest mediation , and the key role of labor market organizations in policymaking ( Lindvall and Sebring 2005 ). While researchers debate the nature and scope of these changes ( see , e . g ., Pierre 2015 ; Svallfors 2016 ), the trend brings questions about how the Swedish policy process can be depicted and understood .
The objective of this review is twofold : we explore ( i ) how the ACF may contribute to knowledge about Swedish policy processes and ( ii ) if and how
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