Framing scales and scaling frames : the politics of scale and its implications for the governance of the Dutch intensive agriculture

With this thesis, I aim to get a better understanding of scale framing in interaction, and the implications of scale framing for the nature and course of governance processes about complex problems. In chapter 1, I introduce the starting points: the conceptual framework, the research aim, the research questions, the case, and the methodology. I begin from the idea that complex problems are not just out there, but that actors highlight different aspects of a situation as a problem. This process is also referred to as framing. The differences in frames, expressed by different actors, contribute to the complexity of the problem. In this thesis, I focus on how actors use scale in their framings. I call this scale framing. I define scales broadly as the spatial, temporal, or administrative dimensions used to describe a phenomenon. Apart from scales, levels can be distinguished. Levels are the different locations on a scale. Scale framing is not without consequences. It makes a difference in terms of actors, interests, and interdependencies whether problems are addressed at one scale-level or another. This process of strategically using scales as political devices is also known as the politics of scale, or scalar politics.