Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-2017
Capstone Advisor
Matt Huber
Honors Reader
Sherburne Abbott
Capstone Major
International Relations
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Social Sciences
Subject Categories
International Relations | Other International and Area Studies | Political Science
Abstract
This project is an analysis of the German energy transition, called the Energiewende, and the dual power shift that is underway in the country’s electric sector. It is both a physical shift from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy, as well as a socio-political shift in power from centralized utilities to community ownership of energy. The project examines three policy mechanisms — the feed-in tariff, emissions trading, and auctions — through the lens of ordoliberalism, a German variant of economic liberalism that believes in state intervention to maximize fair market competition. Using qualitative research of Anglophone sources, this project draws most heavily upon the book Energy Democracy: Germany’s Energiewende to Renewables by Craig Morris and Arne Jungjohann. The project argues that the power shift in Germany, while vastly changing the ownership and diversity of electricity sources, is not truly democratizing the energy sector.
Recommended Citation
Lichtenstein, Gabrielle, "Power Shift: Germany's Energy Transition" (2017). Honors Capstone Projects - All. 1041.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/1041
Creative Commons License
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