fieldspolitics
Fieldspolitics, also referred to as field politics, is a concept in political science that describes political competition and decision-making within a specific policy field or sector. It views the field as a distinct arena with its own actors, rules, norms, and resources, where influence over agendas, standards, and the allocation of resources is contested. The term draws on sociological field theory, which treats actors as striving to accumulate various forms of capital—economic, cultural, social—and legitimacy within a particular field.
Core actors in fieldspolitics include government agencies, professional associations, firms, interest groups, researchers, and media actors.
Examples span many domains. In agriculture, field politics influence subsidies, environmental standards, and production regulations. In
Critiques note that studying fieldspolitics can overlook broader structural factors and may rely on opaque internal