A Three‐Stage Model of the Maturation of Nascent Policy Subsystems Toward Stable Advocacy Coalitions, With Evidence From the <scp>UK</scp> 's Response to <scp>COVID</scp> ‐19

2025/06/09 by Kristijan Garic, Philip Leifeld · 3 voices · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering #Policy Transfer and Learning #Public Policy and Administration Research

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/psj.70047

openalex publication_date 2025/06/09 · openalex created_date 2025/06/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

ABSTRACT Policy subsystems are comprised of competing advocacy coalitions, in which public and private political actors with shared belief systems learn from each other and coordinate their strategies in the pursuit of influencing policy making in their favor. While numerous studies have focused on the longevity and structural stability of advocacy coalitions, there is scant theory and evidence on how nascent policy subsystems bifurcate into stable, competing coalitions. This article proposes a three‐stage model of problem discovery, differentiation, and consolidation. We apply discourse network analysis to the nascent subsystem of the UK's COVID‐19 response in order to study these phases and discuss their applicability and implications for other institutional and issue contexts.

Citations

• Systematising Policy Learning: From Monolith to Dimensions
• A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice
• Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA
• The Advocacy Coalition Index: A new approach for identifying advocacy coalitions

Cited by

• Editorial Introduction: Institutions, Attention, Narratives, and Policy Outcomes in the Policy Process
• Coalition Breakdown and Subsystem Exit

Discussions

• New article published: "A Three‐Stage Model of the Maturation of Nascent #Policy #Subsystems toward Stable #Advocacy Coalitions, with Evidence From the UK's Response to #COVID‐19", with Kristijan Gari [bsky, 6 points, 0 comments]
• New paper by Mitchell Centre member Philip Leifeld in the Policy Studies Journal, using social network analysis to theorise how political actors start forming advocacy coalitions in the early stages o [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
• Analyze this PSJ article on the emergence of advocacy coalitions, revealing how policy subsystems evolve through stages of problem discovery, differentiation, and consolidation. By: Kristijan Garic [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]

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• Coalition Breakdown and Subsystem Exit
• Endogenous Coalition Formation in Policy Debates
• Sharpening Advocacy Coalitions
• Discourse Networks and Contentious Global Public Policy
• The Advocacy Coalition Index: A new approach for identifying advocacy coalitions