Advocacy Coalition Framework: Advice on Applications and Methods

The Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) is a widely -applied theoretical framework to explain the dynamics of the policy process and major policy change. This chapter provides advice on how scholars may apply the ACF framework and adequately deal with methodological challenges that often arise in the applications of this framework. The challenges are considered in the context of cross-cutting concepts, including policy subsystems, policy actors, and belief systems, as well as three meta-theoretical concepts that underlie the ACF: coalitions, policy change, and learning. While there is no single approach to apply the ACF in any context, this chapter reviews the various dominant approaches used in operationalization and measurement of major theoretical concepts, including document analysis, expert interviews, and survey.