Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in Japan

This paper applied the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to environmental governance studies and examined the validity of policy change hypotheses in Japan, where few ACF studies exist despite the seemingly appropriate conditions to apply the ACF. While environmental governance has been studied for...

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Main Author: Tomohiko Ohno
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: OpenEdition 2022-03-01
Series:International Review of Public Policy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/2362
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author Tomohiko Ohno
author_facet Tomohiko Ohno
author_sort Tomohiko Ohno
collection DOAJ
description This paper applied the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to environmental governance studies and examined the validity of policy change hypotheses in Japan, where few ACF studies exist despite the seemingly appropriate conditions to apply the ACF. While environmental governance has been studied for several decades, there is no prevailing research framework. I used the ACF to explain the policy process leading to Japan’s first large dam removal, a critical case of major policy change in environmental governance. Using data from interviews and newspaper articles, I identified advocacy coalitions, the events leading to the policy change, and the changes in coalition resources through discourse network analysis and other methods used in the ACF literature. Consequently, I found that the policy change hypotheses were valid and that coalition resources were significant intervening variables that lead to policy change. However, I also found the need for further refinements of the policy change hypotheses in the ACF. This paper confirms the utility of the ACF’s policy change hypotheses and research methods to understand the complex dynamics of environmental governance.
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spelling doaj-art-b7245e1e23ee442d9416f319b12097d92025-01-09T16:25:59ZengOpenEditionInternational Review of Public Policy2679-38732706-62742022-03-01453610.4000/irpp.2362Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in JapanTomohiko OhnoThis paper applied the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to environmental governance studies and examined the validity of policy change hypotheses in Japan, where few ACF studies exist despite the seemingly appropriate conditions to apply the ACF. While environmental governance has been studied for several decades, there is no prevailing research framework. I used the ACF to explain the policy process leading to Japan’s first large dam removal, a critical case of major policy change in environmental governance. Using data from interviews and newspaper articles, I identified advocacy coalitions, the events leading to the policy change, and the changes in coalition resources through discourse network analysis and other methods used in the ACF literature. Consequently, I found that the policy change hypotheses were valid and that coalition resources were significant intervening variables that lead to policy change. However, I also found the need for further refinements of the policy change hypotheses in the ACF. This paper confirms the utility of the ACF’s policy change hypotheses and research methods to understand the complex dynamics of environmental governance.https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/2362Advocacy Coalition Frameworkpolicy changedam removalenvironmental governanceArase Dam
spellingShingle Tomohiko Ohno
Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in Japan
International Review of Public Policy
Advocacy Coalition Framework
policy change
dam removal
environmental governance
Arase Dam
title Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in Japan
title_full Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in Japan
title_fullStr Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in Japan
title_full_unstemmed Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in Japan
title_short Advocacy Coalition Framework in Environmental Governance Studies: Explaining Major Policy Change for A Large Dam Removal in Japan
title_sort advocacy coalition framework in environmental governance studies explaining major policy change for a large dam removal in japan
topic Advocacy Coalition Framework
policy change
dam removal
environmental governance
Arase Dam
url https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/2362
work_keys_str_mv AT tomohikoohno advocacycoalitionframeworkinenvironmentalgovernancestudiesexplainingmajorpolicychangeforalargedamremovalinjapan