From good practice to policy formation—The impact of third sector on disaster management in Taiwan

Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) first developed by Sabatier and Jenkins (1987, 1988) as a conceptual lens, this paper explores its usefulness in understanding policy changes in the context of disaster management in Taiwan. The 921 Alliance and the 88 Alliance formed in light of two natural disasters were subjects of analyses. Overall, the ACF is an effective tool in analyzing Taiwan’s policy changes in response to natural disasters, especially regarding the importance of policy core beliefs in reinforcing the cohesiveness of coalitions and their drive to influence government’s decisions. Yet, this paper argues that a critical attribution within the two coalitions was that of social capital, an aspect that the originally ACF as posited by Sabatier conceptually lacks. The impacts of 921 and 88 Alliances on Taiwan’s civil society development are also discussed.