Non-implementation of road pricing policy in the Netherlands: An application of the ‘Advocacy Coalition Framework’

Ardıç, Özgül; Annema, Jan Anne; van Wee, Bert · 2015 · DOAJ

DOI: 10.18757/ejtir.2015.15.2.3065

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Summary

This study investigates the reasons for the non-implementation of road pricing policies in the Netherlands over a 16-year period (1994–2010). While previous literature often attributes policy failure to the opposition of specific actors, this research employs the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to analyze the broader dynamics of conflict and consensus among 26 major policy actors. The authors aim to determine how internal and external shocks, policy-oriented learning, and stable system parameters influenced the policy process and why these factors failed to produce a major policy change, specifically the introduction of a road pricing scheme. The methodology involves a longitudinal analysis of the Dutch road pricing subsystem, focusing on two primary proposals: "Rekeningrijden" (peak-hour charging around major cities) and "Kilometerheffing" (a nationwide per-kilometer charge). The researchers operationalized the ACF by identifying advocacy coalitions based on shared policy core beliefs regarding these proposals and secondary aspects such as effectiveness, household welfare, and technical adequacy. Coordination patterns were assessed through parliamentary motions, voting behavior, and joint statements. The study also examined the role of external shocks (changes in governing coalitions), internal shocks, scientific information, and professional discussion forums. Stable system parameters, including the Dutch consensual political culture, centralized decision-making authority, and sociocultural values regarding car dependency, were analyzed as constraints on policy change. The findings reveal that non-implementation cannot be ascribed to the opposition of a single actor or group. Instead, it resulted from the interplay of Dutch political culture and specific complications within the road pricing subsystem. Although internal and external shocks, along with policy-oriented learning, altered the power balance between pro- and anti-road pricing coalitions, they did not trigger the necessary major policy change. The Dutch political system’s requirement for broad consensus and its slow-moving nature reduced the capacity for radical policy departures. Furthermore, deep-rooted sociocultural values viewing car use as essential to individual freedom made road pricing a politically sensitive issue with visible costs to voters, discouraging political actors from promoting it. Consequently, despite periods of consensus and shifts in coalition dominance, the policy remained stable in its non-implementation. The significance of this study lies in its demonstration that policy stability is often maintained by stable system parameters and sociocultural values, even when dynamic factors like shocks and learning occur. It challenges the narrative that policy failure is solely due to actor opposition, highlighting instead the structural and cultural barriers within consensual political systems. The research underscores that for major policy changes like road pricing to occur, shocks and learning must overcome not just political opposition but also deeply embedded societal values and institutional constraints. This provides a more nuanced understanding of policy processes in complex, high-conflict domains.

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• traffic safety culture