https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0197-4205
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ABSTRACT
Antimicrobial resistances (AMR) present an emerging concern in human and animal health policy, as well as in water policy as a consequence of the pollution of water resources by antibiotic substances stemming from manure and sewage treatment plants. In 2017, the European Commission passed an AMR Action Plan and urged member states to develop national action plans to coordinate action across human, animal and environmental health. Building on the literature on policy integration we conduct comparative case studies in order to explore how European countries address the AMR challenge and if policies respond to the cross-sectoral character of AMR. We find that policy integration varies across countries provide explanations for why this is the case and come to three main conclusions: Firstly, and confirming previous research, a pronounced executive capacity, the presence of green parties in parliament, and a consensus democracy are each necessary but not sufficient conditions in configurations leading to policy integration. Secondly, executive capacity only results in policy integration if there is no important agricultural sector articulating its interests. Thirdly, even if there is an important agricultural and/or livestock sector, green parties in parliament or consensus democracies can balance these interests towards a successful policy integration.
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Notes on contributors
Colette S. Vogeler
Colette S. Vogeler is research associate at the Institute of Comparative Politics and Public Policy at TU Braunschweig, Germany. Previously, she worked at the Universities of Heidelberg and Kaiserslautern and gathered international experience during her work and educational stays in China and South America. Her research interests and expertise lie in the field of comparative policy analysis, with a focus on environmental, agrarian and animal welfare policies.
Johanna Hornung
Johanna Hornung is research associate at the Institute of Comparative Politics and Public Policy at TU Braunschweig, Germany. Due to her international profile including an education in Barcelona and a research stay in Paris, she is particularly interested in comparative policy studies on a variety of policy fields, including health policy, environmental policy and infrastructure policy. She applies both quantitative and qualitative methods and has a special interest in approaches of political psychology as well as policy process theories with a psychological basis, particularly the Social Identity Approach and the Programmatic Action Framework (PAF).
Nils C. Bandelow
Nils C. Bandelow is full professor for political science and heads the Institute of Comparative Politics and Public Policy at TU Braunschweig, Germany. Previously, he worked at the Universities of Bochum and Düsseldorf and gathered international experience for instance during his fellowship at the University of Birmingham. His research interests and expertize lie in the field of policy process research, with a special focus on health policies, sustainability and environmental policies, as well as infrastructure and mobility policy. He applies established and emerging theories and frameworks of policy process research and those containing psychological foundations, such as the Social Identity Approach and the Programmatic Action Framework (PAF).
Malte Möck
Malte Möck is research associate at the Agricultural and Food Policy Group at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Previously, he worked at the Institute of Comparative Politics and Public Policy at TU Braunschweig and gathered international experience during studies in Istanbul. His research focuses on transdisciplinary and relational approaches towards agricultural policies and the governance of urban-rural relations.