Agents of fundamental policy change?: political strategies of the environmental, sustainable agriculture, and family farm groups in the 1990 farm bill

This study investigates the strategies and policy impacts of the environmental, family farm, and sustainable agriculture groups in the 1990 farm bill legislation. In spite of "genuine" interest in a fundamental policy reform, and in spite of a common agenda, the three different types of interest groups mostly opted for parochial, incremental policy demands. This self-restrictive interest group behavior and the groups' limited impacts on policy outcomes is explained by organizational limitations and self-interests of the challenging interest groups as well as by institutional protection of the American political system. This protection specifically applies to the agricultural domain with its distinctive farm bill construction. <u>New and potentially challenging farm bill interest groups have not been agents for fundamental policy change</u>, as the policy status quo (old policies as well as governmental inaction) is structurally protected.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Political Science

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1992

Author dc:creator

• Lang, Helmut

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Walcott, Charles E.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Batie, Sandra S.
• Luke, Timothy W.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-01122010-020218

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/40621