Similarity of policy beliefs and networks explain advocacy tactics: evidence from the climate policy process

Public, private and third sector actors participate in policymaking processes to inform, influence and shape policy designs and choices. The tactics that they use can be shaped by their beliefs, their collaboration networks and by the tactics employed by other actors. In addition, so-called outsiders, such as NGOs, are often thought to engage in tactics that are more confrontational. This paper investigates the determinants of the tactics used by policy actors by applying bipartite exponential random graph models to climate change policy network data from Czechia, Finland, Ireland and Sweden. Results show that actors in all four countries use the same tactics as those with which they share beliefs, but only in Finland and Ireland do actors use the same tactics as those with which they collaborate. There is no evidence that NGOs use a different repertoire of advocacy tactics than businesses.