Jakob Skovgaard

This paper addresses coherence at the levels of policy objectives and instruments. The existing literature usually links policy coherence to strong hierarchical coordination mechanisms. This paper builds on two cases of, respectively, hierarchical imposition and deliberation within the European Commission (the step‐up to a 30% greenhouse gas reduction target on the one hand, and the energy efficiency target on the other), to show that coherence of policy objectives is negatively affected by conflicting organizational cultures. The analysis shows, first, that deliberation was possible when the disagreement between organizations was rooted in differing causal beliefs regarding policy instruments, while hierarchical imposition was used when the disagreement was rooted in differences in normative beliefs regarding policy objectives. Secondly, it appears that accommodation between differing causal and normative ideas concerning policy objectives and instruments can be solved both by power and by deliberation, the latter requiring more time and effort.