Socio-technical transitions and policy change - Advocacy coalitions in Swiss energy policy

Jochen Markard, Marco Suter and Karin Ingold
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Jochen Markard: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Department of Management, Technology and Economics, Group for Sustainability and Technology, Weinbergstrasse 56/58, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Marco Suter: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Department of Management, Technology and Economics, Group for Sustainability and Technology, Weinbergstrasse 56/58, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Karin Ingold: Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, Bern 3012, Switzerland

SPRU Working Paper Series from SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School

Abstract: Policies and politics are an integral part of socio-technical transitions but have not received much attention in the transitions literature so far. Our paper addresses this gap with a study on actors and coalitions in Swiss energy policy making. Drawing on the advocacy coalition framework, we develop first ideas about the interplay of socio-technical systems and policy systems. Then we investigate empirically how coalitions have changed and whether there are indications for major policy change. Our results show that advocacy coalitions in Switzerland have largely remained stable despite the Fukushima shock. However, heterogeneity of beliefs has increased and in 2013, even a majority of actors expressed their support for the energy transition – an indication that major policy change might be ahead. It seems that in socio-technical transitions policy change is not just a matter of core beliefs. Instead, changes in the policy issue and in the actor base – both as a consequence of technological change – play a role as well. We make suggestions how the advocacy coalition framework can inform analysis and theory building in transition studies.

Keywords: Politics; policy change; advocacy coalition framework; energy transition; energy policy; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm and nep-ene
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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