This project examines the development of renewable policy in California and Germany through the theoretical lens provided by John Dryzek's democratic theory of social movement engagement with the liberal democratic nation-state. Specifically, this thesis considers the impact of social movements on what the theory identifies as five core imperatives of state. The argument uses a qualitative, comparative, process tracing methodology, supported by critical discourse analysis, to analyze environmental social movement engagements with the state in relation to the development of renewable energy policymaking in the state of California and in the Federal Republic of Germany between 2000 and 2017. Whereas Dryzek and colleagues argue that environmental movement activism may have prompted a new, sixth, environmental conservation imperative of state, this thesis differs. Rather, the analysis finds that if indeed such a sixth imperative is emergent, it might better be defined as a resource conservation imperative. That is, in California and in Germany, it is not so much the environment but rather access to abundant and economically sustainable natural resources that states aim to conserve. / Master of Arts / This thesis explores the influence of the relationship between social movements and policymakers on renewable energy policy in California and Germany. Social movements are, for the most part, groups who wish to change government policy without necessarily winning elections or otherwise entering into public office. As such, this research examines how social movements, particularly environmental social movements, interact with government policymakers to affect renewable energy policy. This project’s analysis is based on evidence collected from newspapers and online news sources from California and Germany through 2000 to 2017. The findings suggest that environmental movements, as well as policymakers, use the language of what are called state imperatives in order to justify changes to renewable policy. These state imperatives are basically the main duties or goals that governments need to satisfy or accomplish. The findings also suggest that if a new duty or goal of the state is arising, it has to do with saving or conserving resources. This research is important as environmental issues such as global climate change continues to increasingly become a threat to society, and it also helps to further understand how renewable energy policy is developed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/83422 |
| Date | 30 May 2018 |
| Creators | White, Robert Edward |
| Contributors | Political Science, Scerri, Andrew Joseph, Luke, Timothy W., Daggett, Cara New |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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