La fabrique du consensus politique: le debat sur la politique agricole commune et ses raports à l'environnement en Europe

Based on the example of the debate on the rela- tions between the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the environment, this article offers a longitudinal analysis of a public problem definition. Focusing on actor struggles, it shows how, in twenty years, the vision of the relations between the CAP and the environment carried out by some environmentalists has become dominant at the European level, generating a large and tacit consensus. Three complementary elements are identified to explain political consensus produc- tion: the use of “ science ” allows projecting a seemly depoliticized and universal worldview, pro- mising an inevitable future; the plasticity of the logic of this vision enables various appropriations, likely to integrate diverse interests; finally, legal consecration of this vision favors a phenomenon of symbolic impact.