Beyond policy community : french agriculture and the GATT
By: EPSTEIN, Paul J
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ArticlePublisher: London : Routledge, September 1997Journal of European Public Policy 4, 3, p. 355-372Abstract: The conflict between the European Community (EC) and the US on the terms of an agricultural accord stalled the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations (1986-93) for nearly three years. This article examines the policy process that formed around the agricultural dossier in France, where the government has long championed co-operation and collaboration with professional farm syndicates. Recent analyses link this co-operation to the policy community model of decision-making. Through a detailed examination of the dynamics of the policy process during the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks' crucial years, this article argues that the French government's handling of the agricultural dossier contradicts the fundamental elements of this model. The analysis poses problems for both the current literature on French agriculture and the applicability of policy community theory more generally. The stage is set for a more broadly encompassing theoretical analysis.
The conflict between the European Community (EC) and the US on the terms of an agricultural accord stalled the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations (1986-93) for nearly three years. This article examines the policy process that formed around the agricultural dossier in France, where the government has long championed co-operation and collaboration with professional farm syndicates. Recent analyses link this co-operation to the policy community model of decision-making. Through a detailed examination of the dynamics of the policy process during the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks' crucial years, this article argues that the French government's handling of the agricultural dossier contradicts the fundamental elements of this model. The analysis poses problems for both the current literature on French agriculture and the applicability of policy community theory more generally. The stage is set for a more broadly encompassing theoretical analysis.
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