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As the development of renewable energy remains prominent on the global policy agenda, international organizations and states have created policies intended to foster renewable energy development. With wind power projected to make the largest contribution to Europe's renewable energy mix, the EU and EU member-states have attempted to create institutional frameworks favoring the development of wind power. In many cases, however, this has proven to be a necessary, but insufficient, condition for wind power development, making wind power policy an interesting case of policy implementation. Because of the inherently local nature of wind power development, the influence of local actors and institutions on the policy process must also be considered. This article suggests how a proposed theoretical development in the Advocacy Coalition Framework can be used to explain how concerns exogenous to local policy subsystems can affect local political decision-making and policy implementation. This approach is then used to examine the case of wind power development in Markbygden, Sweden and finds partial support for the effect of exogenous concerns on local political decision-making. ; Validerad;2018;Nivå 2;2018-01-02 (svasva)

As energy security, climate change and other environmental concerns remain prominent on the global agenda, international organizations and states have created policies intended to foster the development of renewable energy. With wind power projected to make the largest contribution to Europe's renewable energy mix, the EU and EU member-states have created an institutional framework designed to that favor the development of wind power. While some states have been successful in reaching their renewable energy goals, others have been less so. This article seeks to understand the reasons why states are successful in achieving their intended policy outcomes despite the inherent difficulties in implementing policy. Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework as a point-of-departure, this article will explore the relationship between the beliefs of national lawmakers, policy outputs and policy impacts, as well as how these relationships can help explain wind power policy implementation.

This dissertation investigates the drivers behind political decision-making and the policy outcomes resulting from political decisions. It is proposed that in policy processes where political decisions are made at multiple levels or across multiple policy subsystems, policy outcomes can be understood in terms of the mechanisms (i.e. the processes or means) of interaction between multiple policy subsystems within which political decisions are made,resulting in more or less policy alignment between political decisions and policy outcomes. Policy network theory and policy subsystem theory are used separately as the basis forderiving two potential explanations for the mechanics of policy subsystem interactions. Because political decision-making authority in the wind power policy process in most Western democratic countries is spread across multiple policy subsystems, and because there has been significant variation between wind power policy outcomes between these countries, wind power policy processes in European Union countries are used as an empirical point-of-departure for exploring and illustrating the mechanics of policy subsystem interaction. A survey of the research on wind power development is used to illustrate and explore preliminary empirical indications of support for a framework derived from policy network theory. The case of political decisions made in Sweden over the past twenty years related to wind power development and production is used to illustrate and explore preliminary empirical indications of support for an explanation of policy subsystem interactions derived from the Advocacy Coalition Framework proposed here, as well as to explore the drivers of political decisions. This dissertation therefore contributes to understanding how policy subsystems interact. The dissertation contributes theoretically to the literature on policy processes generally, as well as to network/network management theory, and to the Advocacy Coalition Framework/policy subsystem theory. It also contributes to understanding two strategically chosen, embedded cases within the broader case study of political decision-making in the wind power policy process in Sweden.

The outputs of political processes, i.e. policy, reflect rational cost-benefit calculations and power relationships, but are also shaped by the values and beliefs of policy actors, i.e. sovereigns, involved in the decision-making process. Values and beliefs affect how rational analyses and power relationships are understood and valued by sovereigns. This article suggests that understanding sovereigns' values and beliefs is, however, necessary but insufficient for understanding concrete policy outputs, particularly in complex policy processes characterized by conflicting interests and values. In such cases, sovereigns are forced to prioritize among their values and beliefs. This article proposes a framework for studying how sovereigns prioritize among their values and beliefs. This framework is then used to study a complex policy process ridden with conflicts of interest and value-conflicts, which highlights the value and necessity of studying sovereigns, their values and beliefs, as well as the prioritizations they make among those values and beliefs.

The promotion of renewable energy is an essential component of energy and climate policies, but it is increasingly recognized that the transition toward an increased use of renewable energy sources constitutes a complex socio-political process. Policy is manifested in multi-actor networks beyond formal hierarchies and must therefore build on a comprehensive empirical understanding of the local collaboration processes that make investments in renewable energy projects possible. The objectives of this article are to: (a) propose an analytical framework within which the local development processes leading to renewable energy investments can be understood, in particular emphasizing the management of the relevant actor networks; and (b) provide empirical illustrations of the framework based on existing research. The article argues that, based on network management theory, some network structures can be expected to be more successful than others in facilitating renewable energy development, and we recognize the ways in which networks and their structure tend to be placed within certain institutional contexts of rules. By consulting selected research on wind power development at the local level we illustrate the added value of the proposed framework, and outline the seeds of a future research agenda. ; Validerad; 2017; Nivå 2; 2016-12-29 (andbra)