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Advocates or cartographers? Scientific advisors and the narratives of German energy transition

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  • Leipprand, Anna
  • Flachsland, Christian
  • Pahle, Michael

Abstract

Political debate on energy in Germany has been shaped by two historically opposed discourses, one pushing for a transition to renewables, the other holding on to the status quo. Scientific policy advice (SPA) has been involved in their evolution from the beginning. This paper draws on the Advocacy Coalition Framework and on discourse and narrative theory to study the role of SPA in recent German energy policy. We explore 1) whether scientific advisors have been members of advocacy coalitions, and 2) how their contributions may have interacted with the evolution of the discourses and major narratives. We perform a qualitative text analysis of 50 SPA reports published between 2000 and 2015.

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  • Leipprand, Anna & Flachsland, Christian & Pahle, Michael, 2017. "Advocates or cartographers? Scientific advisors and the narratives of German energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 222-236.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:102:y:2017:i:c:p:222-236
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.12.021
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    3. Nadejda Komendantova & Sonata Neumueller, 2020. "Discourses about energy transition in Austrian climate and energy model regions: Turning awareness into action," Energy & Environment, , vol. 31(8), pages 1473-1497, December.
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    6. Bryant, Scott T. & Straker, Karla & Wrigley, Cara, 2019. "The discourses of power – governmental approaches to business models in the renewable energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 41-59.

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