How social movements influence policies : Advocacy, framing, emotions and outcomes among reproductive rights coalitions in Peru

Sammanfattning: With its origins in the early 1990s, feminist advocacy directed at influencing public policies is a relatively new phenomenon in Latin America that is commonly studied at the national level. The aim of this thesis was to study feminist advocacy on reproductive rights at the sub-national level in Peru. Specifically, it explored two research questions: how do feminist movements carry out advocacy to intervene with government agencies and what effects does their advocacy have on policies. This aim ties in with the body of literature that seeks to explain how and what outcomes are produced by social movements. Grounded Theory was used to collect and analyze empirical materials on two reproductive rights coalitions and their members in Arequipa and Cusco, Peru. Empirical materials consisted of focus group discussions, individual interviews and participant observation. Data analysis resulted in two core categories: Coalition-Government Interactions and Policy Outcomes. Linked to the core categories are thirteen categories, which constitute factors that the reproductive rights coalitions “deal with” or “strategize about” in order to interact with government officials and attain policy outcomes. The coalitions maneuver those factors they have immediate control over - tactics, organization, framing and emotions - as a means to deal with those factors they do not have immediate control over - relationships with other policy actors as well as political, cultural and social contexts. The findings help refine existing theories on how and what outcomes are attained by social movements. The coalitions and their members influence policies through various channels by developing an array of interactions with government officials. This allows the coalitions to handle potential constraints on their ability to be a critical voice. Political, cultural and social contexts are not the only external factors affecting the coalitions’ influence on policies. Another key external factor is their relationships with other policy actors comprised of a range of organized political and social groups. Concerning internal factors, the coalitions and their members rely on framing activities and emotion work in addition to organization and tactics. Indeed, the coalitions and their members engage in framing activities and emotion work by means of their relationships with other policy actors to influence policies. Finally, the coalitions perceive effects of their advocacy including, but not limited to, the modification of laws and policies. Instead, outcomes were identified along different stages of the policy process, including the impact of coalition frames on policy positions.