Policy Statements to Legitimise “Decision-Makers”

In the previous chapters, we have seen that actors define solution proposals within statements that give them meaning and build coalitions in order to support them. While this process makes it possible to understand how actors come together to defend a common proposal, it is insufficient in explaining how a solution is imposed and ultimately transformed into a decision. Certain proposals supported by coalitions and possessing “solid” arguments thus stagnate continuously without turning into “decisions”. Others encounter conflict or opposition, which relegates them to the cemetery of proposals that never see the light of day.