DO IDEAS MATTER - POLICY NETWORK CONFIGURATIONS AND RESISTANCE TO POLICY CHANGE IN THE CANADIAN FOREST SECTOR

Conflict and controversy have been a prominent feature of the politics of the Canadian forest sector for over a decade, but with little appa rent effect on Canadian forest policies. To help understand the role o f ideas in the policy process, this paper focuses on the configuration of policy subsystems in the sector, arguing that ''captured'' and ''c lientelistic'' policy networks have been able to resist criticisms eme rging from fractious policy communities. Until such time as a coherent and consistent alternative forest policy paradigm emerges to unify th e community, it is likely that the present disjuncture between ideas a nd interests in the forest sector will continue to characterize forest policy development.