Abstract:
The claim that public problems are constructs is now widely recognized as justified
and was first established in social problem theory. The high instability of problem
definition activities in the case of water pollution coming from agriculture in Brittany
demonstrates this particularly well. The objective of this article is to describe ways by
which an environmental movement organization (EMO) conceives its activities of
public problem construction. Inspired by social movement theory, but aiming at overcoming
its weaknesses, the paper seeks to highlight the influence of EMO endogenous meaning
production in problem construction processes, a dimension often overlooked even by
framing theory. In a bid to support that claim, the paper shows the influence of the affective
dimension over the strategic one within the problematization process. Forging a conceptual
distinction characterized by a perceived problem and strategic definitions, the paper underlines
the fundamental interrelated nature of these two components and consequently
emphasizes the reciprocal dependence of the perceived problem over the strategic (either
material or cognitive) definitions. Finally, the paper evokes the benefit and impact of
this conceptual distinction on the policy-making process.
