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Policy Coherence for Sustainable Agricultural Development: Uncovering Prospects and Pretence within the Swedish Policy for Global Development
Author(s) -
Larsen Rasmus Kløcker,
Powell Neil
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
development policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1467-7679
pISSN - 0950-6764
DOI - 10.1111/dpr.12034
Subject(s) - legitimacy , stakeholder , political science , european union , sustainable development , sustainability , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , agriculture , promotion (chess) , policy development , economic growth , business , public administration , economics , public relations , economic policy , geography , ecology , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , politics , biology , law
Within the European Union, promotion of ‘policy coherence’ is intended to improve co‐ordination across sectors and groups of professionals, who make competing claims for agricultural development in low‐income countries. This article examines the prospects for stakeholders in Sweden to implement such a policy, drawing on experiences from the launch of a national multi‐stakeholder platform with the participation of 99 organisations. Its findings demonstrate institutional fragmentation and struggles for legitimacy, with the internationally heralded Swedish Policy for Global Development operated largely as a tokenistic instrument, legitimised by the pretence of stakeholder engagement. It argues for improved institutional support to facilitate cross‐sectoral dialogues to deconstruct social boundaries which are no longer relevant.