What Drives Coalitions' Narrative Strategy? Exploring Policy Narratives around School Choice

Abstract

Policy actors use narratives strategically to attempt to influence the political contexts in which they participate. This study employs the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) to examine policy actors' narratives around the issue of state‐level school choice policy. Specifically, we seek to determine why coalitions of policy actors use a narrative strategy called the devil‐angel shift. While traditional NPF hypotheses speculate that use of this strategy is driven by whether coalitions perceive themselves as policy winners or losers, recent studies suggest that use of this strategy may be better indicated by a coalition's policy position. To investigate this, we analyze legislative testimony related to two state‐level senate bills that sought to enact a universal school voucher program in Nevada. We find that a coalition's policy position better reflects their use of the devil‐angel shift narrative strategy over time, and we posit two potential explanations for the link between policy positions and narrative strategy.Related ArticlesErtas, Nevbahar. 2015. “Policy Narratives and Public Opinion Concerning Charter Schools.” Politics & Policy 43 (3): 426‐451. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12120Shanahan, Elizabeth A., Mark K. McBeth, and Paul L. Hathaway. 2011. “Narrative Policy Framework: The Influence of Media Policy Narrative on Public Opinion.” Politics & Policy 39 (3): 373‐400. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00295.xSmith‐Walter, Aaron, Holly L. Peterson, Michael D. Jones, and Ashley Nicole Reynolds Marshall. 2016. “Gun Stories: How Evidence Shapes Firearm Policy in the United States.” Politics & Policy 44 (6): 1053‐1088. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12187