Exploring the Extent of Political Discourse Change in the Circular Economy
Proceedings of the IS4CE2020 Conference of the International Society for the Circular Economy, 6 – 7 July 2020, University of Exeter, Exeter
6 Pages Posted: 11 Dec 2020
Date Written: July 7, 2020
Abstract
Although the construction of economic policy is always presented as the result of an objective process, the existence of policy discourses shapes our understanding of a socially constructed reality and can influence policy outcomes. This article presents a framework that enables the understanding of the extent how discursive changes can influence policy actors, and by extension, it can influence policy outcomes. This framework includes the analysis of (1) the shift in policy objectives, or how policy actors reconsider their policy ambitions after a change in their discourse, the (2) shift in semiotic elements, where the discourse is reflected and replicated, and (3) the shift in advocacy coalitions, as a discursive change may compromise the integrity and structure of advocacy coalitions. Also, I include the case of the Galician Strategy for a Circular Economy as an example to illustrate the use of this framework. The merit of this framework is that it proposes to analyse the first consequences of a discourse change, allowing the understanding on how a change has the potential to provoke policy change.
Keywords: policy discourse, circular economy, advocacy coalition, discursive change
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