From Cooperation to Contention and Back Again: Power Shifts in Climate and Forestry Policy Networks

Climate change policy processes are inherently political in nature and are influenced by broader political dynamics external to the specific climate change policy domain. Climate change mitigation efforts to tackle the problem of deforestation in tropical forest rich countries (REDD+) are no exception. National REDD+ policy arenas are characterized by complex, multi-actor, multi-sector and multi-level interactions, which go from cooperation to contention. We use a comparative policy network approach to investigate power structures in REDD+ policy domains over time. Based on a theoretical framework developed by Kriesi et al. 2006 we assess dynamics in power structures based on two dimensions: distribution of power and dominant type of interaction, which can span from cooperation to contention. These structures are then assessed along levels of progress in REDD+ policy processes. The study tests a number of hypotheses related to the role of ownership in policy process, the role of internal coalition dynamics, the role of dominant type of interaction between coalitions, and the role of broader political dynamics external to the REDD+ policy domain to assess drivers of progress in REDD+ policy, and in particular the role that cooperation, contentions and coalitions work play in forest-based climate change mitigation. The analysis is based on a three country comparison (Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam) of national REDD+ policy networks across three points in time, 2012, 2015 and 2019.