Advocacy Coalition Representation

Abstract

One of the most significant innovations within policy process theories is the concept of advocacy coalitions, namely how policy actors self-organize to collectively pursue shared goals. Despite the centrality of advocacy coalitions and extensive research spanning decades on this concept, questions remain about their functional purpose in a democracy. For this paper, we introduce the novel concept of “advocacy coalition representation” to describe how advocacy coalition members act as representatives of their constituencies. Taking an Advocacy Coalition Framework perspective, this paper begins with an argument incorporating democratic representation into the theoretical infrastructure of the Framework. It illustrates this argument by examining advocacy coalition representation in Colorado's abortion policy subsystem through interviews with pro- and anti-abortion-access actors. Ultimately, we find that the two coalitions offer patterns of advocacy coalition representation distinct from one another along two key variables: constituencies (who advocates represent) and engagement (how advocates represent). This paper ends with theoretical and empirical implications before returning to the theme of democracy and policy process research.

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