One of today's greatest societal challenges is transforming the energy system to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. While there is broad consensus on the need to shift away from fossil fuels, the methods for achieving this transition are contested, with various viewpoints, beliefs, and interests at play. The success of this transformation depends on numerous policy actors collaborating to negotiate diverse policies and actions.
The Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) offers a theoretical lens to understand both collaboration and conflict. Advocacy coalitions consist of actors in a policy subsystem who share similar policy beliefs and coordinate actions to influence policy. A core assumption of the ACF is that shared policy core beliefs, or belief homophily, fosters collaboration and coalition formation. Conversely, divergent beliefs can lead to a lack of collaboration and, more frequently, conflict among actors and coalitions.
Transforming the energy system is complex and cannot be reduced to a single policy iss
