Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hess, David J.

Titel

Sustainability transitions: A political coalition perspective

Ist Teil von

• Research policy, 2014-03, Vol.43 (2), p.278-283

Ort / Verlag

Amsterdam: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2014

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •Political coalitions both for and against transitions affect the transition pace.•Political spending by incumbent industries overwhelms grassroots coalitions.•Countervailing industrial power can tip the balance of power between coalitions. In the case of technology transitions to low-carbon sources of energy, there is growing evidence that even in countries with a strong political consensus in favor of a transition, the pace has been slow in comparison with the need to reduce greenhouse gases. One factor that affects the slowness of the transition is political resistance from the incumbent industrial regime. Using data on the mobilization of resistance from the fossil-fuel industry in the United States, the study builds on the growing literature on the political dimensions of sustainability transitions by drawing attention to the role of incumbent regime coalitions, grassroots coalitions in support of green transition policies, and countervailing industrial power. Case studies of political coalitions for ballot propositions in the U.S. are used to show how countervailing industrial power, especially from the technology and financial sector, can tip the balance of electoral spending in favor of grassroots organizations.