Party System Change, Polarization and Energy Transitions: Comparing Germany, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands

The phase-in of new low-carbon energy technologies and phase-out of established fossil-fuel based technologies is key to advancing energy transitions and mitigating climate change. The crucial question here is under what conditions such policies become sticky and effective in some political settings and what factors lead to their weakening or dismantling in other contexts. This paper seeks to advance the understanding of policy success and failure in the field of energy transitions by bridging sustainability transitions studies with the party politics scholarship and the literature on policy feedbacks. We trace qualitatively the ‘life-course’ of several key energy transition policy measures aimed at both promoting new low-carbon technologies and disrupting the fossil-fuel sectors in four countries: Germany, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands. The country cases are selected as they have been active in energy transition policies over the recent decades and are characterized by dynamic variations in their party systems. Importantly, all four countries have been substantially affected by the rise of populist forces recently. The paper draws theoretical and practical lessons on how energy transition policies can secure political support and how their success might be strengthened in the age of political polarization and populism.