Frank Wendler publishes book with RoutledgeNew book out now: “Climate Agendas and Instability”

7 November 2024, by CSS

Photo: Routledge

How does climate policy-making evolve under conditions of disruption by exogenous shocks and political contestation in relation to factors of policy stability? This question is at the foreground of a new book by CSS Senior Researcher Frank Wendler, just published by Routledge under the title: “Climate Agendas and Instability. Green Recovery Programs and Policy Change in the EU and US.” 

The book’s point of departure is the observation of two related dynamics of change in climate governance frameworks: first, their expansion and increased salience as a cross-government issue through the adoption of green deal agendas; and second, their recent re-framing in terms of industrial policy and geopolitical security in response to the Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine. Against this background, the book zooms in on the comparison between the EU and US as contrasting cases of incremental as opposed to more disruptive policy change to enact decarbonization targets under these conditions. Based on Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, the book’s theoretical framework relates the interaction of discursive policy images, institutional policy venues and policy feedback to analyze its two empirical cases: namely, stages of development of the European Green Deal in comparison to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as landmark bills in the US to promote zero-carbon technology. In conclusion, the book weighs the relevance of policy stability in relation to factors of disruption while highlighting the shift of political boundaries of climate governance as a key factor for its politics and decision-making.

The book is part of research conducted for the ongoing project “Political Spaces of Climate Governance” , whose support by the German Science Foundation (DFG) is gratefully acknowledged.