The Transformation of “Agroecological Ideas” Into Instruments of Government Intervention: dynamics of contestation and institutionalization of new ideas in profamily farming policies

Abstract

The research focuses the dynamics of contention and institutionalization associated with the

emergence of agroecology as a technical and political framework, capable to influence public
policy. The analysis explores controversies between social movements, development NGOs
and governmental agents, in their effort to translate “agroecological ideias” into instruments of
governmental intervention. Special attention is dedicated to the interactions established between social organizations and State actors in the construction of institutional arrangements, as well as in the definition and operationalization of instruments of public action. The proposed analytical framework tries to establish a dialogue between relational perspectives in social science aiming to capture the interdependent relations established between the State and social organizations in public policy formulation and implementation and a recent corpus of literature that chooses as an object of reflection the “instrumentation of public action”, deepening the understanding of the technical and social devices mobilized in public action.