Contention vs. Cooperation: The impact of expertise in the policy influence of Social Movement Organizations Kendra Thayer A Thesis In The Department Of Political Science Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Public Policy and Public Administration) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada February 2009 © Kendra Thayer, 2009 Library and Archives Bibliothdque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'6dition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-63245-1 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-63245-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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I+I Canada ABSTRACT Contention vs. Cooperation: The impact of expertise in the policy influence of Social Movement Organizations Kendra Thayer This thesis seeks to understand the why some Social Movement Organizations (SMOs) gain greater influence over certain parts of the public policy cycle than other organizations. It asks the following question: Does a more contentious organization have more influence over specific parts of the policy process than more cooperative organizations? To answer this question, a comparative case study of two SMOs is presented, their different characteristics are explored and examples of their actions are analyzed using a framework based on social movement literature including the political process model, political opportunities, and epistemic communities. The various stages of the policy cycle are taken into account when analyzing the policy influence of each SMO. This thesis hypothesizes that a more contentious group will target the public masses and influence the agenda setting stage of the policy cycle, whereas the more cooperative organization will target the sub-government and influence the formulation stage of the policy cycle. It is the expertise and target audience together that determine the point in the policy cycle of policy influence. Through the use of the case study broader theoretical questions regarding social movement theory and SMOs are examined. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the help of my supervisor, Francesca Scala, this thesis would never have been completed. Her unwavering support and positive attitude made the writing of this study possible. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their warm support and constant belief that this project would somehow come to fruition. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank all of those individuals in the political, bureaucratic, and activist circles that spoke candidly and openly to me during the research phase of this case study. Their insights into how "the system" works, and the generous use of their time, were gifts I appreciate to this day. Thank you all. iv DEDICATION To my mother, who has never faltered in saying that I can do anything. To my father, who has never failed to encourage me to think about everything. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES VIII CHAPTER 1. CONTENTION VS. COOPERATION: THE IMPACT OF EXPERTISE IN THE POLICY INFLUENCE OF SMOS 1 THE RESEARCH QUESTION 7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 9 METHODOLOGY 10 PAPER ORGANIZATION L1 CHAPTER 2. EVOLUTION OF A CRISIS 13 HOMELESSNESS & PUBLIC POLICY 14 THE HISTORY OF HOUSING POLICY AND HOMELESSNESS IN TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA 18 HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS IN TORONTO 28 UNDERSTANDING OCAP AND TDRC 31 SUMMARY 42 CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL MOVEMENT ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY44 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 73 CHAPTER 4. EXPERTISE & INFLUENCE 77 A COMPARISON OF MAJOR ACTIONS: QUEEN'S PARK VS. TENT CITY 78 ASSESSING INFLUENCE: TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS 88 CAPITALIZING ON POLITICAL OPPORTUNITIES: USING POLICY NETWORKS AND COMMUNITIES 91 INFLUENCE & THE POLICY PROCESS 97 CONCLUSION 103 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION: COOPERATIVE VS. CONTENTIOUS EXPERTISE 104 RESEARCH FINDINGS 104 FUTURE RESEARCH 107 HOMELESSNESS: WHERE TORONTO IS NOW 108 BIBLIOGRAPHY Ill vi vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. A COMPARISON OF OCAP AND TDRC CHARACTERISTICS 40 TABLE 2. A COMPARISON OF QUEEN'S PART AND TENT CITY 87 TABLE 3. POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURES FOR OCAP AND TDRC 93 TABLE 4. ANALYSIS OF INFLUENCE BY OCAP & TDRC 102 viii Chapter 1. Contention vs. Cooperation: The impact of expertise in the policy influence of SMOs Social Movement Organizations (SMOs) are the basic building block of social movements. To this end, SMOs have been studied and analyzed extensively in the analysis of the greater organisms that are social movements. This study is different from others in that it focuses on the SMOs involved in a larger movement exclusively and largely ignores the movement itself. This is in part to highlight how unique organizations differ from each other within the same movement. Being part of the same overarching movement does not make organizations the same, or even overly similar. While championing the same cause, such as homelessness, organizations may differ wildly from each other in terms of character, behavior, and achievements. These differences matter greatly in an organization's ability to achieve influence over those political, social, and economic institutions that govern society. Whether an organization has a positive working relationships with state, the public, and other social organizations, or whether an organization considers the state to be its opponent, and displays disregard for pervasive public attitudes and those of other social organizations, the perspective and attitude that an SMO has about such relationships has a large impact of the ability of an organization to impact the political system. Ultimately, social movement organizations seek to impact 1 public policy, and while this is not necessary the only or main goal of the organization, it is certainly true that people join movements and organizations to change public policies.1 Cooperative and contentious aspects of the relationships between SMOs and the state are well described in theories of contentious politics. Contentious politics is a concept in social movement literature that is used largely to describe the actions of social movements. Starting with the early studies of Sidney Tarrow on cycles of contention, and continuing with the works of Tilley and McAdam on the dynamics of contention, the body of work dealing with contentious politics has grown, and continues to develop. One area that has yet to be explored is the application and understanding of the concept of contention in respect to individual social movement organizations within the same movement. This paper shows that organizations can be more or less contentious than others, and it illustrates that this difference impacts the influence that individual SMOs have on public policy. Contentious politics is often used to describe the behavior of social movements; however, it can also describe the relationship that a social movement or, in this case, a social movement organization has with the state. Tarrow defines contentious politics as "[E]pisodic, public collective interaction among makers of claims and their objects when (a) at least one government is a claimant, an object of claims, or a party to the claims and ' Thomas R. Rochon, Daniel A. Mazmanian, "Social Movements and the Policy Process," The Annals of The American Academy of American and Political Science 528, (July 1993): 75. 2 (b) the claims would, if realized, affect the interests of at least one of the claimants."2 In this study, the SMOs are the makers of the claims while the government is both a party to the claims and the object of the claim in that public policies are created and implemented by the government, which has its own position on the subject of the claims themselves. The claims advanced by the SMOs would affect the interests of both the SMOs and the government. In addition to the basic elements in Tarrow's definition, the contentious nature of the interactions between SMOs and the state is defined by the very nature of the actions that comprise the interactions between the two parties. Contentious politics are often marked by contentious actions and behavior that can be described by observers as •j "unruly," meaning disruptive. This behavior runs in sharp contrast from more cooperative actions that correspond to the more acceptable standard behavior of a given political environment. The nature of an organization's relationship with the state, particularly when engaging in claims making and in taking actions for or against the state, affects the SMOs ability to influence public policy in a variety of ways to be further explored in this study.