Advocacy Coalition Framework
membership and behavior within and across policy subsystems are questions that demand comparative work over time .
Finally , studies should employ clearly specified research methods to foster transparency and collective learning among scholars . We found that one-third of the studies in Sweden relied upon unspecified methods of data collection — a pattern noted elsewhere as well ( Weible , Sabatier , and McQueen 2009 ).
Given the increasing number of Swedish ACF applications , we expect that the trend will continue into the future . We hope that this trend will be accompanied by the development and application of intersubjectively reliable methods based on best practices . Of course , this is not an effort that is limited to Sweden but a joint responsibility for the international community of ACF scholars to share experiences and insights .
Although our study is limited to ACF applications in Sweden , one may speculate as to whether there any recurrent patterns that characterize changing corporatist systems in Europe in terms of the structure of advocacy coalitions and processes of learning and policy change . Our findings are largely consistent with applications in other countries and settings that find relatively heterogeneous coalitions populated by representatives of different organizations seeking to influence public policy . In this regard , results reported here do not reveal any observations unique to neo-corporatist governing systems . However , other studies indicate that there are aspects of the policy process where more particular effects might be evident . For instance , Rommetvedt et al . ( 2013 ) show that in Denmark and Norway the gradual dismantling of corporatist representation has pushed interest groups to resort increasingly to political lobbyism directed at elected representatives in Parliament and the government . Also in a study of Denmark , Larsen , Vrangbaek , and Traulsen ( 2006 ) demonstrate that policy actors may be affiliated with several advocacy coalitions simultaneously , which paves the way for negotiation and compromise rather than conflict among competing coalitions . In our view , these findings encourage future analysis of how changing corporatist structures and practices might feed certain unique patterns of behavior and strategies of policy actors .
We find it necessary to conclude this study with a caveat . This review focuses exclusively on empirical applications of the ACF in Swedish policy processes , which is deliberately a narrow theoretical and empirical contribution . We do not claim that the ACF is the only approach available or that it provides better descriptions or explanations compared to other alternative frameworks offered by the vast public policy literature . However , as indicated by the number of applications in the recent years , the ACF clearly constitutes one useful theoretical starting point for scholars interested in Swedish policy processes . Also , we stress that the ACF does not make any aspirations to be a complete framework capturing all the aspects and nuances of the policy process . The policy process is simply too complex , which calls for comparative research using different and partially complementary theoretical perspectives . By demonstrating how the ACF has been applied in Sweden , including the most important contributions and limitations , we hope to contribute to the cumulative effort by policy scholars to advance the understanding of policy processes across systems and settings .
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