Drivers of Collaboration in Nascent Policy Domain: A Case of the Czech Climate Policy

The Czech Republic is a post-communist country heavily dependent on coal standing before key decisions that are going to critically influence the nature and pace of its transition to a decarbonized economy. More specifically, the debate has been centered around decisions on coal mining limits, extensions of nuclear power plants, and the role of renewables. These issues have resonated throughout the policy process and sparked a competition of various policy actors over a definition of specific transition-pathways within the nascent policy domain. Since collaboration is generally considered as a necessary condition of efficient policy responses, we analyze survey data of the Czech climate policy network to examine its drivers. The explanations of collaboration based on belief homophily, resource dependence, and scientific authority are tested by application of Exponential Random Graph Models.