Negotiating identity within the Sustainable Agriculture Advocacy Coalition

Abstract

Three prominent national coalition efforts to promote sustainable agriculture are examined: the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Integrated Farm and Food Systems Network, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. Research methods include participant observation, interviews, and a survey. Qualitative and quantitative results are presented. Findings are related to theories about advocacy coalitions, interest groups, negotiation strategies, and identity politics. Results show evidence of an identity group within the sustainable agriculture advocacy coalition. The presence of an identity group impedes the ability of sustainable agriculture advocates to make significant progress in the policy subsystem because participants focus on continuous internal coalition negotiations, avoid conflict that can clarify goals, and discount scientific data, relying instead on information generated through group dialogue. Recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the sustainable agriculture advocacy coalition are presented. Suggestions to augment the Advocacy Coalition Framework developed by Paul Sabatier and Hank Jenkins-Smith are offered.