Suchergebnisse

Public policies have long seen pastoral mobility as a problem, in connection with a sometimes divisive approach to productive land use. Today, because of the population, land tenure and economic dynamics at work in ail territories, securing mobility is becoming an economic and political challenge of regional or even continental importance.

Feeding cities is assuming ever more importance on the political agenda. But beyond the required willingness of political actors to develop urban food strategies, initiatives driven by local actors also play a central role in the long-term construction and consolidation of these strategies. Through describing experiences in West Africa and South America, we emphasise that taking into account informal relationships in designing public policies can improve food production and distribution in urban areas.

The food security challenges faced by populations in sub-Saharan Africa and the fact that extensive production systems are reaching their limits in the food-producing agricultural chain have increased the need to accelerate technological innovation toward the ecological intensification of agricultural production systems. Here, a review of the research conducted on plantain bananas (Musa paradisiaca) in Cameroon since 1988 revealed how institutional innovation has enabled the hybridization of different research forms- such as fundamental, systems, and action research-and reinforced the organizational innovation required for technical change. We found that impact evaluation underlined the complementarity between the increases in productivity and income in rural areas, as well as the production of human and social capital and the protection of forest resources.

How can agriculture produce food for 9 billion inhabitants in 2050 and achieve the Millennium Development Goals of alleviating poverty, reducing hunger and protecting the environment? In order to take up these challenges and to design tomorrow's food and agriculture systems, research organizations have to define strategies and options, and public policy makers their priorities from now on, relying on foresight studies. Various studies have been conducted to assess scenarios for the long-term future of food and agriculture in the world. Each one has its own objectives, methodologies, and results. Analyzing, comparing and discussing hypotheses, methodologies and results were the objectives of the FI4IAR/CTA seminar "Thinking Forward: assessments, projections and foresights", organized during the GCARD 2010 process. This dialogue, which sometimes led to scientific disputes, proved productive and encouraging. Is it a forum that should be continued in the future?

Tras una mision de diagnostico llevada a cabo por el Cirad en el mes de enero de 1998, PLANTE propuso un programa de intervencion para el ano 1999. Fue en este contexto que tuvieron lugar las misiones de octubre-noviembre de 1999 para las que se fijaron los siguientes objectivos: proseguir el programa de formacion de los formadores, hacer el estado de las investigaciones sobre el hevea en las regiones de PLANTE, Caqueta, Putumayo, Guaviare y Meta, examinar las posibilidades de una delagacion a tiempo parcial de un experto del Cirad en PLANTE

If agricultural development is considered as the gradual changes occurring in the agricultural production, processes that are assumed to be socially beneficial, the knowledge of these processes , their transformations in time as well as spatial adaptations is of primary importance. Especially because such a knowledge should be at the basis of any critical consideration or recommendation for action aiming at modifying the existing production processes and the on-going course of their changes in a given area. In FSRD, well-known concepts of the micro analysis are successfully used to understand, evaluate and improve these production processes at the farm level. Meanwhile, at a larger scale and in order to identify the deep key transformations that affect in the long term the whole farms of a region, these useful concepts are not sufficient. Particularly, they do not permit the appraisal of the conditions and consequences of the these determining evolutions and adaptations. Especially their economic and social implications. To characterize such significant changes in the production processes at the regional or national levels, a more global concept is necessary that we call Agrarian System. At the crossroads between agro-ecology and agro-economy, the concept's main variables arc the cultivated ecosystem and the instruments and means which are used to produce, maintain and exploit it creating a specific mode of exploitation of the environment. Other essential interrelated variables that have also to be taken in to account to explain the key transformations of agrarian systems are the division of labor between the various economic sectors, the relations of production, ownership and exchanges of the products, as well as the dominating political and cultural conditions and institutions. The paper presents how such a global concept can be used to: - propose a pertinent diagnosis on the present state and on-going evolution of a regional agriculture. - formulate adapted orientations for its future development, especially for the less-favoured groups of farmers. Recent studies on key changes in the rice-based agrarian systems of southern Thailand provide illustrations and concrete examples as well as demonstrate the relevance of this approach in the present state of Thai agriculture. It is also suggested that such study of the historical transformations and spatial adaptations of the agricultural production processes constitutes the subject of an agricultural development science understood as a part of the global social development.

Background Since the early 2000s, biofuel production has been developed in West Africa with the encouragement and support of notably Europe, Brazil, and China. Yet the development of biofuels can also be viewed from the angle of West African interests. The principle arguments advanced in favor of biofuels pointed to their potential to reduce oil trade deficits and improve the populations' access to ready, cheap energy. Biofuels consequently began to be put on the political agendas of West African countries. Ten years after the first Jatropha plantations for energy use were established in West Africa, and in the light of the uneven development of the biofuel sector across the region, we analyze the factors that surprisingly led to policy inaction in many of these countries. Methods We used the concept of policy cycle stages to analyze the involvement of stakeholders in building biofuel policy and the factors behind incomplete public policies. The methods and tools that have been defined for the analysis of the relationships and interplay between actors are based on an analysis of the positions and interests of different stakeholders and on the comparison of their influence and importance in the design and implementation of projects, programs and policies. Our approach is inspired by the literature on Stakeholder Analysis, but also draws from the field of New Institutional Economics. We developed our own analytic framework (the "4C") which breaks down the interplay between different types of stakeholders and into four types of relationships: coordination, concertation, cooperation and contractualization. Our research process was based on a ranging study conducted between 2011 and 2014. Multilevel approaches were used to understand multi-scale and multi-sector biofuel issues. The analysis employed a large range of methods, including the reading of reports and political texts and conducting interviews. The documentary analysis helped to identify stakeholder groups for the stakeholder analysis. We then carried out interviews with a panel of stakeholders. Results The study shows that it was the energy ministries of West African countries, encouraged by international cooperation agencies, which stepped forward to establish biofuel strategies, paying little attention to the issues at stake for agricultural producers or local communities. Around the same time, increases in food prices on the international market began to damage the image of biofuels, which came to be perceived as a threat to the food security of populations in developing countries. In several countries dependent on outside technical and financial support, this shift in the international discourse influenced the position of agriculture ministries, which became lukewarm or even opposed to biofuels. An outstanding result of the study is that the double talk at the international level—favorable and unfavorable to biofuels—and power games inside the countries crippled the coordination of public action to support the sector, generated an institutional vacuum, led to conflicts between stakeholders, and hampered the sustainable development of biofuel projects and sectors in several West African countries. In conclusion, we then emphasize the need to turn inaction into action: regulation frameworks must be implemented if the biofuel sector is to survive in West Africa. Conclusions The development of biofuels in the majority of West African countries suffers from an absence of a clear vision shared by all stakeholders and a lack of coordination between public actors. An institutional vacuum has taken hold which prevents investments in and the sustainable development of the biofuel sector and respectful of the interests of family farmers, who represent the majority of the population. The governments in these countries mainly worked through the ministries in charge of energy, which have become the leaders on the biofuel question. National biofuel policies are thus primarily focused on the energy potential of biofuels and on technical and economic dimensions of processing Jatropha seeds into oil and biodiesel rather than on upstream and downstream social objectives. If the biofuel sector is to survive in West African countries, the inaction of public actors has to be reversed by establishing the institutional frameworks needed to facilitate such development.

Associar a noção de segurança alimentar ao termo de campesinato implica pensar em produzir também para além das famílias camponesas; quer dizer para redistribuir ou para comercializar para a população. Por isso o campesinato "produz para viver e alimentar". Mas como articular uma produção camponesa fundada na reciprocidade com a natureza e na solidariedade entre pares com um mercado nacional e internacional dominado e regulado pela troca mercantil? O artigo propõe, na sua primeira parte, responder a essa questão a partir dos fundamentos da antropologia econômica, mas também mobilizando elementos mais recentes da teoria da reciprocidade. Após Mauss, Polanyi teve um papel essencial com a proposta do conceito de economia substantiva e com a identificação da reciprocidade como modo de regulação da economia ao lado da troca e da redistribuição. A análise antropológica da reciprocidade foi completada nos anos 1990/2000 por Temple prolongando Mauss e Levi-Strauss com a análise das estruturas elementares da reciprocidade. Hoje, essa análise estrutural permite procurar na pesquisa empírica, a natureza dos valores materiais, também aquela dos valores afetivos e éticos produzidos pelas relações de reciprocidade, das quais alguns exemplos no meio camponês brasileiro são apresentados na segunda parte. Na terceira parte pergunto por que se interessar pelas práticas e relações de reciprocidade hoje no século XXI e examino como tais relações de reciprocidade estão presentes em situações mistas, ao lado das relações de troca mercantil.

Background: A large proportion of the tropical rain forests of central Africa undergo periodic selective logging for timber harvesting. The REDD+ mechanism could promote less intensive logging if revenue from the additional carbon stored in the forest compensates financially for the reduced timber yield. Results: Carbon stocks, and timber yields, and their associated values, were predicted at the scale of a forest concession in Gabon over a project scenario of 40 yr with reduced logging intensity. Considering that the timber contribution margin (i.e. the selling price of timber minus its production costs) varies between 10 and US$40 m?3, the minimum price of carbon that enables carbon revenues to compensate forgone timber benefits ranges between US$4.4 and US$25.9/tCO2 depending on the management scenario implemented. Conclusions: Where multiple suppliers of emission reductions compete in a REDD+ carbon market, tropical timber companies are likely to change their management practices only if very favourable conditions are met, namely if the timber contribution margin remains.

Presentation of the survey. This survey was carried out for one month, from 4 November to 4 December 2014, on the basis of a questionnaire prepared during several meetings of the Board of Directors; the first part, on the profile of respondents, included the items from the 2004 survey [1]. This questionnaire (see annex) was available online on the Internet, accessible from the EWS homepage. The announcement and information on this survey were sent by email to all EWS members. They were asked to circulate the questionnaire as widely as possible, in particular to non-members. The results are presented using descriptive statistics and compared, where possible, with those of the 2004 survey. ; International audience ; Presentation of the survey. This survey was carried out for one month, from 4 November to 4 December 2014, on the basis of a questionnaire prepared during several meetings of the Board of Directors; the first part, on the profile of respondents, included the items from the 2004 survey [1]. This questionnaire (see annex) was available online on the Internet, accessible from the EWS homepage. The announcement and information on this survey were sent by email to all EWS members. They were asked to circulate the questionnaire as widely as possible, in particular to non-members. The results are presented using descriptive statistics and compared, where possible, with those of the 2004 survey. ; Présentation de l'enquête Cette enquête a été réalisée pendant un mois, du 4 novembre au 4 décembre 2014, sur la base d'un questionnaire préparé au cours de plusieurs réunions du Conseil d'Administration ; la première partie, consacrée au profil des répondants, reprenait les items de l'enquête réalisée en 2004 [1]. Ce questionnaire (cf. annexe) était disponible en ligne sur internet, accessible depuis la page d'accueil du site internet de la SAP. L'annonce et les informations concernant cette enquête ont été envoyées par email à l'ensemble des membres de la SAP. Il leur était demandé de diffuser le questionnaire le ...

Intensivt diskuteret på den internationale scene, som illustreret ved Verdensmålene for bæredygtig udvikling, som De Forenede Nationer har lanceret, har bæredygtig udvikling og bæredygtighed været veletablerede som centrale emner for vores samfund. Det nylige videnskabelige arbejde opfordrer indtrængende til at reducere det miljømæssige bæredygtighedstryk, således at jordens livsstøttende funktioner kan opretholdes, og økonomier og samfund, der er indeholdt i jordsystemet, kan forblive intakte. Virksomhedernes rolle i at understøtte overgangen til bæredygtige samfund er blevet understreget af forskere, beslutningstagere og virksomheder selv. I denne sammenhæng udvikler virksomhederne i stigende grad deres egne bæredygtighedstilgange. Bæredygtighedstilgange kan tage forskellige former såsom miljøledelse, bæredygtig forsyningskædeforvaltning og renere produktion. I dette ph.d.-projekt blev der taget et produkt livscyklusperspektiv, som betragter virksomheder som de vigtigste udbydere af varer og tjenesteydelser (i det følgende omtalt som "produkter") med deres indlejrede livscykluser i vores økonomier. Beslutningerne i produktudviklingsaktiviteterne er typisk betragtet som at bestemme en stor del af produkternes miljømæssige bæredygtighedseffekter over deres livscyklus. Derfor har virksomhederne en central rolle at spille gennem udvikling og levering af produkter, som er fokus for forskning indenfor miljøvenlig produktudvikling (ecodesign). Bæredygtighedsstrategier kan undersøges i forskellige lag, lige fra intern organisatorisk funktion, over operativ bæredygtighed og virksomhedernes fortællinger, til fungeren af det overordnede erhvervsmæssige økosystem. I dette ph.d.-projekt blev bæredygtighedstilgange i et produkt-livscyklusperspektiv undersøgt baseret på to forskellige lag af bæredygtighedstilgange, nemlig virksomhedsfortællinger og intern organisatorisk fungeren. For det første, selv om livscyklus-tænkning er blevet drevet af forskellige industri- og politiske initiativer og blev anset for at udgøre et fælles verdensbillede af miljøforvaltning, er det uklart, i hvilket omfang den aktivt anvendes i industrien til at lede bæredygtighedstilgange. Dette ph.d.-projekt har til formål at undersøge dette spørgsmål baseret på firmafortællinger og, mere præcist, baseret på virksomhedernes bæredygtighedsrapporter. Disse rapporter (Corporate sustainability reports) giver indsigt i, hvordan virksomheder mener at deres bæredygtighedsindsats bør være fremlagt bedst muligt, og dermed indeholder de begreber og ræsonnementslinjer, der anses for kritiske af virksomhederne selv for deres officielle kommunikation. I denne sammenhæng er det første forskningsspørgsmål (RQ1), der behandles i dette ph.d.-projekt: "I hvilken grad er livscyklus-tænkning til stede i virksomhedsfortællinger om deres bæredygtighedsstrategier, der fremgår af virksomhedernes bæredygtighedsrapporter?" For det andet peger seneste udviklinger inden for litteratur omkring integrering af miljøveling produktudvikling på en dybere inddragelse af både formelle aspekter (f.eks. organisatoriske enheder, processer og mål) og uformelle aspekter (f.eks. individuelle aspirationer, rutiner og magtforhold) af organisatorisk fungeren. Et rammeværk fra den generelle ledelseslitteratur, nemlig "organisationers fire-linse-perspektiv", blev identificeret som en mulig konceptuel ramme for at imødegå formelle og uformelle aspekter af organisatorisk fungeren. I denne sammenhæng er det andet forskningsspørgsmål (RQ2), der behandles i dette ph.d.-projekt: "I hvilket omfang kan organisationernes fire-linse-perspektiv hjælpe med at undersøge og understøtte integration af ecodesign i virksomhedernes formelle og uformelle organisatoriske fungeren?" Tilstedeværelsen af livscyklus-tænkning i virksomhedernes fortællinger, som præsenteret i virksomhedernes bæredygtighedsrapporter, blev undersøgt ved hjælp af tre forskellige indikatorer: (i) referencer til livscyklusbaserede metoder; ii) omfanget af, hvilke rapporterede miljømæssige bæredygtighedstiltag der dækker de forskellige livscyklusfaser og (iii) tilstedeværelse af elementer af livscyklus-tænkning i virksomhedernes fortællinger (konkret: produkt-livscyklus-system, hotspots i livscyklussen, trade-offs i livscyklussen eller på tværs af miljøproblemer, og produkt-miljø-bæredygtigheds budget relateret til ideen om økologiske grænser). De vigtigste resultater er: 1. Idéen om produktets livscyklus blev fundet værende til stede i virksomhedernes bæredygtighedsrapporter som et koncept eller gennem operativ praksis, der tager sigte på de forskellige livscyklusfaser. 2. Livscyklusvurderingsmetoden i sig selv blev fundet med en ret svag tilstedeværelse i virksomhedernes bæredygtighedsrapporter globalt, men i mindre, målrettede prøver af virksomheders bæredygtighedsrapporter blev forekomsten af livscyklusbaserede metoder fundet hyppigere. 3. Livscyklus-tænkning blev kun fundet i begrænset omfng til kritisk at analysere og reflektere over miljømæssige bæredygtighedsproblemer i forbindelse med produktets livscyklus. Et antal litteratur- og empiriske undersøgelser blev gennemført for at besvare RQ2 og bestod i alt af (i) kortlægning af tiltag omkring integration af ecodesign der støtter fire-linse-perspektivet og (ii) afdækning af tvær-linse-effekter, dvs. interaktioner mellem linser og (iii) efterfølgende anvendelser af fire-linse-perspektivet i ecodesign-integrationsaktiviteter. De vigtigste resultater er: 1. Linse-dominans blev identificeret blandt tiltag, der støtter ecodesign-integration i litteratur og empiriske data, selvom der også blev fundet tiltag svarende til alle linser. 2. Indikationer af tvær-linse-effekter, dvs. indikationer om, at mål svarende til en given linse forøger faktorer i kernen af andre linser, blev fundet i litteraturen og i de empiriske data. 3. Tre mulige anvendelser af fire-linse-perspektivet i ecodesign-integrationsaktiviteter blev udviklet, herunder løbende forbedring, problemløsning og uddannelse eller rekruttering af medarbejdere. Sammen har de to spor i dette ph.d.-projekt til fælles at muliggøre at "komme tættere på virksomheder" - til virksomhedernes forståelse for, hvordan de bedst kan præsentere deres bæredygtighedsindsats og til virksomhedernes interne organisatoriske fungeren. Denne ph.d.-forskning giver komplementær indsigt i, hvordan man kan styrke integrationen af bæredygtighedstilgange i industrien, ud fra et produkts livscyklusperspektiv. Det første spor identificerede behovet for øget brug af livscyklus-tænkning i virksomhedernes fortællinger om centrale analyser og refleksioner omkring eksisterende produktlivscyklusystemer og de miljømæssige bæredygtighedsudfordringer, de er forbundet med. Det andet spor banede vejen for yderligere afprøvning af den analytiske og praktiske værdi af organisationernes fire-linse-perspektiv for at undersøge og støtte ecodesign-integration i virksomheder med en bred horisont af, hvad intern organisatorisk fungeren indebærer. Disse to spor blev fulgt i stor udstrækning uafhængigt af hinanden, og mulighederne for deres kombination er skitseret for fremtidig forskning. ; Intensively discussed in the international scene, as illustrated with the Sustainable Development Goals launched by the United Nations, sustainable development and sustainability have been well established as central topics for our societies. Recent scientific work urges to reduce environmental sustainability pressures so that Earth's life-supporting functions can be maintained, and economies and societies nested in the Earth system can keep thriving. The role of companies in supporting the transition towards sustainable societies has been emphasized by researchers, policy-makers and companies themselves. In this context, companies increasingly develop their own sustainability approaches. Sustainability approaches can take various forms such as environmental management, sustainable supply chain management, and cleaner production. In this PhD project, a product life cycle perspective was taken, which relates to viewing companies as the major providers of goods and services (hereafter referred to as "products"), with their embedded life cycles, in our economies. The decisions made during the product development activities have typically been considered to determine a large share of products' environmental sustainability impacts along their life cycle. Hence, companies have a key role to play through the development and delivery of products, which is the focus of ecodesign research. Sustainability approaches can be researched on different layers, ranging from internal organizational functioning, over operational sustainability practices and companies' narratives, to functioning of the overall business ecosystem. In this PhD project, sustainability approaches from a product life cycle perspective were researched based on two different layers of sustainability approaches, namely company narratives and internal organizational functioning. First, although life cycle thinking has been driven by various industry and policy-making initiatives, and been considered to constitute a shared worldview of environmental management, the extent to which it is actively used in industry to guide sustainability approaches remains unclear. This PhD project set out to research this question based on company narratives, and more precisely based on corporate sustainability reports. Corporate sustainability reports deliver insights on how companies understand that their sustainability efforts should be best presented, and, hence, contain concepts and reasoning lines considered critical by the companies' themselves for their official communications. In this context, the first research question (RQ1) addressed in this PhD project is: "To what extent is life cycle thinking present in company narratives of their sustainability approaches provided in corporate sustainability reports?" Second, recent developments in ecodesign integration literature have called for a deeper embracement of both formal aspects (e.g. organizational units, processes and targets) and informal aspects (e.g. individual aspiration, routines, and power relationships) of organizational functioning. A framework from general management literature, the four-lens view of organizations, was identified as a candidate conceptual framework to address formal and informal aspects of organizational functioning. In this context, the second research question (RQ2) addressed in this PhD project is: "To what extent can the four-lens view of organizations help investigating and supporting ecodesign integration in formal and informal organizational functioning of companies?" The presence of life cycle thinking in companies' narratives provided in corporate sustainability reports was explored using three different indicators: (i) references to life cycle-based methodologies; (ii) extent to which reported environmental sustainability operational practices covered the different life cycle stages; and (iii) presence of life cycle thinking elements in companies' narratives (product life cycle system, hotspots in the life cycle, tradeoffs in the life cycle or across environmental problems, and product environmental sustainability budget related to the idea of ecological limits). The main findings are: 1. The idea of product life cycle was found present in corporate sustainability reports as a concept or through operational practices addressing the different life cycle stages. 2. The Life Cycle Assessment methodology in itself was found with a rather weak presence in corporate sustainability reports globally; yet, in smaller and targeted samples, presence of life cycle-based methodologies was found more frequent; 3. Life cycle thinking was found only limitedly used to critically analyze and reflect about environmental sustainability problems associated with product life cycles. A set of literature and empirical studies were undertaken to answer RQ2, and overall consisted of (i) mapping measures in favor of ecodesign integration in the four-lens view framework; (ii) uncovering cross-lens effects, i.e. interactions between lenses, and (iii) deriving applications of the four-lens view in ecodesign integration activities. The main findings are: 1. Lens dominance was revealed among measures in favor of ecodesign integration in literature and empirical data, although measures corresponding to all lenses were found. 2. Indications of cross-lens effects, i.e. indications that measures corresponding to a given lens enhance factors at the core of other lenses, were found in the literature and in the empirical data. 3. Three hypothesized applications of the four-lens view in ecodesign integration activities were derived including continuous improvement, problem solving and training or recruitment of employees. Together, the two tracks of this PhD project had in common to allow "getting closer to companies"- to the companies' understanding of how to best present their sustainability efforts, and to the companies' internal organizational functioning, respectively. This PhD research provides complementary insights on how to strengthen the integration of sustainability approaches in industry, from a product life cycle perspective. The first track identified the need for an increased use of life cycle thinking in companies' narratives for critical analyses and reflections about existing product life cycle systems, and the environmental sustainability challenges they are associated with. The second track paved the way for further testing of the analytical and practical value of the four-lens view of organizations to investigate and support ecodesign integration in companies, with a broad horizon of what internal organizational functioning entails. These two tracks were conducted independently to a great extent, and opportunities for their cross-linking are outlined for future research.

"The present book is a state of the art reassessment and analysis of how the interplay between memory, history, and justice generates insight that is multifariously relevant for comprehending the present and future of democracy without becoming limited to a Europe-centric framework of understanding. The volume is structured on three complementary and interconnected trajectories: the public use of history, politics of memory, and transitional justice. Subsequently, the contributors deal with trauma and the reconstitution of democratic communities, with the multiple publics of historical inquiry in the context of a shift from authoritarianism to pluralism, with the competing narratives resultant of the process of Aufarbeitung, and last but not least, with the juridical and investigative efforts to acknowledge and punish the crimes and abuses of the past. It brings together historiography with memory studies, intellectual and legal history, political analysis with theoretical insight. It integrates local and regional experiences with traumatic pasts into a global structure that offers the possibility of more general conclusions about the memory of a century touched by the 'reek of cruelty'. The authors situate the process of coming to terms with the past (communism, fascism, authoritarianism, failed democracies) in Eastern Europe (including the Western Balkans) and the former Soviet space within the larger context of discussing the memory and history of the post-war period. At the same time, the European overview is compared with other cases of post-authoritarian transitions such as those in Latin America, South Africa, Japan, and the Middle East. The result is a clustered big picture of practices of remembrance, reckoning, and historiographical reevaluation"--Provided by publisher.

Policy learning is an important factor of policy change and designates the relatively enduring alterations of policymakers' beliefs, attitudes and behavioral intentions with respect to policies. While there is a considerable amount of knowledge about the influence of institutions, organizations, and networks on policy learning, little research has been conducted about the individual conditions of this mechanism. Based on an analytical framework combining the Advocacy Coalition Framework's concepts (at the collective level) and the Theory of Reasoned Action's concepts (at the individual level), this research focuses on the individual conditions of policy learning, in particular policymakers' interests and trust. The test of the research hypotheses is mainly based on the analysis of the data from a web survey conducted among 1256 policymakers from the Belgian rail and electricity sectors. The use of multilevel regression models to analyse the data of the survey allows to control the influence of aggregate-level effects and to focus on the individual-level conditions of policy learning. The research focuses on the evolution of policymakers' preferences with respect to a policy (here, the European liberalization policy process) as an operational measure of policy learning. The research shows that policymakers' preferences do not evolve very much over time. They do evolve, however. To explain this, key factors are policymakers' perceptions about the impacts of the policy on their personal interests and the interests of their organization: policymakers will adapt their policy preferences according to these perceptions. Nevertheless, much room remains for other determinants of policy learning. This includes socio-psychological factors, like the climate of trust that policymakers perceive in the policy subsystem in which they are involved. This climate can prompt them to recognize more easily the negative effects that policy changes have on them and consequently inclines their policy preferences to evolve more negatively. The results also suggest that policymakers use heuristic-based modes of reasoning for adapting their preferences about policies. For example, when they give much importance to their interests, they seem to expect more negative impacts from policy changes and their policy preferences also evolve more negatively. In other words, those policymakers weigh expected losses more and expected gains less than other comparable policymakers. The research contributes to the Advocacy Coalition Framework in two respects. First, it advances a refined conceptual apparatus to account for the individual-level aspects of the policy process (based on the triptych: beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions). Second, it considers individual determinants of policy learning. In particular, it focuses on policymakers' interests of which the role in policy learning has been less seriously considered by existing research. ; (POLS - Sciences politiques et sociales) -- UCL, 2014