ABSTRACT
Rural studies and policy process literature are ripe for integration due to their mutual reliance on interdisciplinary approaches, empirical foci, and recognition of the importance of values. While policy process theory often ignores the important distinction between rural and urban, it offers a host of qualities rural scholars will find useful when integrated into their research. Rural policy, on the other hand, is founded on the rural/urban divide, but is often undertheorized as it emphasizes complicated systems and individual contexts. Integrating the two literatures provides a means to theoretically simplify the context-rich and complicated systems of rural policy, thereby facilitating empirical inquiry. To this end, this chapter explores several policy process theory “lenses”, arguing each offers a degree of internal consistency, a shared research agenda, and leverage for explaining distinct aspects of rural policy. This chapter reviews extant rural policy process studies within the context of five policy process theory lenses: the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework, Advocacy Coalition Framework, Social Construction of Target Populations Framework, Multiple Streams Approach, and the Narrative Policy Framework. Concrete examples of how the different literatures may be integrated to explore specific research areas and questions are provided.
