How Does the European Union's Pluralistic Institutional System Influence Policy Change? The Case of the European Union Regulation on Deforestation‐Free Products

ABSTRACT How did policy actors use the European Union's (EU's) political system to achieve policy changes in regulating the sustainability and legality of transnational forest and agricultural commodity supply chains? We qualitatively analysed the development of the new EU Regulation on Deforestation‐free products (EUDR) from actor‐centred and institutionalist perspectives. Data sources include policy documents, interviews and participant observation. Our results show that diverse demand‐ and supply‐side public and private actors across national and supranational levels used the openness and consensus requirements of the EU's political system to influence the EUDR. No actor succeeded in fully institutionalising their beliefs and interests in the final compromise text. EU institutions codified ambitious socio‐environmental normative standards in the EUDR under the lead of environmentally‐oriented decision‐makers. They mobilised multiple power resources and exploited multiple policy change pathways. Our findings highlight challenges and successes of adopting extraterritorial sustainability regulations in pluralistic political systems such as the EU.