Policy integration from a practice-theoretical perspective: integrated food policy in the making in two German cities

ABSTRACT

Policy integration (PI) is needed for sustainable food system transformation. But PI is challenging, especially at the local level, where actors only begin to develop food policies and food-related discourses and institutions are only emerging. How does PI unfold in such contexts? In this paper, we employ a practice-theoretical perspective to analyze the early phase of food-related PI in two medium-sized cities in southern Germany to find answers to this question. Based on participant observation and interviews, we analyze how three dimensions of practice – doings, sayings and things – relate to the (dis-)integration of policy problems, goals and means. We find that practice dimensions play an important role in the shaping of integrative and disintegrative policymaking dynamics. We conclude that a practice-theoretical perspective on PI is an important complement to policy integration research as it allows for early identification of practical potentials and obstacles to integrated food policymaking.

KEYWORDS:

• Food policy
• policy integration
• practice theory
• qualitative research
• local level
• sustainability

Acknowledgements

We thank all interviewees and stakeholders for their time and openness. We are very grateful for the comments of our reviewers and the editor, based on which we were able to substantially improve our article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF―Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) within the Research for Sustainable Development program (FONA―Forschung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung; Grant Number 01UR1614A). Basil Bornemann received funding from the ‘The Sustainabilization of the State’ project, which is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation under grant number 178810.

Notes on contributors

Jana Baldy

Jana Baldy is a Research Fellow at the Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy, University of Freiburg. She was part of the joint research project KERNiG funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF―Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung). Her research interests include environmental policy, food policy, gender studies and qualitative social research.

Basil Bornemann

Basil Bornemann is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel. He holds a doctorate from Leuphana University of Lüneburg and a venia legendi in political science and sustainability research from University of Basel. His research focuses on sustainability-oriented governance transformations and their democratic implications in various areas such as energy and food.

Daniela Kleinschmit

Daniela Kleinschmit is Professor for Forest and Environmental Policy at the University of Freiburg. Before coming to Freiburg in 2014 she has spent six years at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, as Assistant Professor and Associate Professor for Forest Policy. Her research focuses on land use policy and governance at multiple political levels.

Sylvia Kruse

Sylvia Kruse is Lecturer and Senior Researcher at the Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy at the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Germany. Her research field covers environmental policy and planning, focusing on sustainable transformation, land use, water management and climate adaptation. Her recent research includes work on policy integration, policy and organizational learning and participatory governance.