| Abstract: | For the past 20 years, Germany has witnessed a remarkable expansion in renewable energy production due to the introduction and further development of a feed-in-tariff model (FITM). This comprehensive and rapid policy change is surprising given the many veto points in Germany's political system and the fact that a powerful alliance objected to an expansion of renewable energy (RE). To explain this puzzle, this study relies on insights from historical institutionalism and policy analysis. I argue that historical contingency and critical juncture opened a window of opportunity for the pro-RE alliance in the late 1980s. Policy entrepreneurs subsequently used the opportunity to advance the FITM. Once introduced, this institution developed a self-reinforcing economic dynamic. Policy entrepreneurs in the parliament and the Ministry for the Environment translated economic gains into political leverage, which was crucial to defend the FITM from counterattacks in the following years. |
