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

Author

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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
    Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, EAWAG, Überlandstrasse 133, Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
    Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Zähringerstrasse 25, Bern 3012, Switzerland)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Jochen Markard & Marco Suter & Karin Ingold, 2015. "Socio-technical transitions and policy change - Advocacy coalitions in Swiss energy policy," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-13, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:sru:ssewps:2015-13
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Edmondson, Duncan L. & Kern, Florian & Rogge, Karoline S., 2019. "The co-evolution of policy mixes and socio-technical systems: Towards a conceptual framework of policy mix feedback in sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    4. Thibaud Deguilhem & Juliette Schlegel & Jean-Philippe Berrou & Ousmane Djibo & Alain Piveteau, 2024. "Too many options: How to identify coalitions in a policy network?," Post-Print hal-04689665, HAL.
    5. Javier López González & Valentina Meliciani & Maria Savona, 2019. "When Linder meets Hirschman: inter-industry linkages and global value chains in business services," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(6), pages 1555-1586.
    6. Phil Johnstone & Andy Stirling, 2015. "Comparing Nuclear Power Trajectories inGermany And the UK: From ‘Regimes’ to ‘Democracies’ in Sociotechnical Transitions and Discontinuities," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-18, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    7. Roman Jurowetzki, 2015. "Unpacking Big Systems - Natural Language Processing meets Network Analysis. A Study of Smart Grid Development in Denmark," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-15, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    8. Normann, Håkon Endresen, 2017. "Policy networks in energy transitions: The cases of carbon capture and storage and offshore wind in Norway," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 80-93.
    9. Janaina Pamplona da Costa, 2015. "Network (Mis)Alignment, Technology Policy and Innovation: The Tale of Two Brazilian Cities," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-14, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    10. Hafeznia, Hamed & Aslani, Alireza & Anwar, Sohail & Yousefjamali, Mahdis, 2017. "Analysis of the effectiveness of national renewable energy policies: A case of photovoltaic policies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 669-680.

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    Keywords

    Politics; policy change; advocacy coalition framework; energy transition; energy policy; Switzerland;
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