| This dissertation examines the role of expertise and the interaction between experts and political actors in the implementation of policy reforms. By comparing the water management reform of three Brazilian states (Ceara, Parana, and Rio Grande do Sul), it seeks to explain how "normally apolitical" experts were able to start and steer the reform process despite the original absence of strong political or social demand for reforming the water resources system.; The main argument of this dissertation holds that: (1) experts make strategic use of their personal and organizational connections in order to gain political support for the adoption, formulation, and implementation of their policy proposals; and (2) in doing so they set off two causal mechanisms that end up shaping the content and implementation of the reform---political packaging and coalition building.; In all three states different versions of the same model were introduced. The basic model rests on the principles of integration, decentralization, and participation. The way in which the principles of decentralization and participation were carried out varied across the states. In Ceara, a newly-established water agency controlled the operation of new regional organizations, which were granted a low degree of autonomy from the state. In contrast, in Parana and Rio Grande do Sul, varied regional organizations (comprising different types of participants) were granted a high degree of autonomy from the state.; Comparative case studies were conducted to trace back the three reform processes. In-depth interviews were complemented with documentary analysis and participative observation. Two general conclusions are drawn from the case studies: (1) while no clear-cut association seems to exist between government priority and the content of the reform, a wider participatory approach is more likely in cases of more diffused pro-reform coalitions; (2) the speed of implementation is positively associated with political packaging and government priority and negatively associated with diffusion of pro-reform coalition. A complementary conclusion holds that, if the reform process was made possible by the experts' initiative and political skill (i.e. political brokerage), it was also contingent on state party politics, which provided an (either facilitating or hindering) environment for the reform. |
