WHO IS THE GREEN LEADER IN SOLAR ENERGY MATTERS? A theorization of political leadership in domestic solar energy development in the cases of the EU, the USA and the People's Republic of China

Abstract

The objective of this exploratory study is to develop a theorization of how political leadership could have an impact on domestic solar energy development. Theorization means in this case the identification of empirical ideal types of solar energy leadership as manifested in six dimensions of policy strategies and analyzed by theoretical, ideal-typical modes of leadership. Based on previous research, three cases, the EU, USA and China, are selected and their policy strategies in terms of domestic solar energy development are analyzed in the following six operative dimensions: policies, research and development (R&D), institutionalization, international agreements, support for less-developed countries, and customs. For the analysis, leadership itself is decomposed in four scholarly modes of international political leadership, which will serve as the coding frame of the qualitative content analysis of material illustrating the policy strategies of the cases in the respective dimensions covering a period from 2009 to early 2016. The analysis reveals three distinct approaches to solar energy development leading to the identification of three empirical ideal types and a suggestion how they might affect solar energy development. By opening room for discourse on employed practices, this exploratory and inductive study will not only set up a typology for empirical ideal-types of solar energy leadership, but also provide implications for political action for fostering development and positioning in the global comparison. Thereby, it is explored whether a specified leadership analysis could contribute to explain variations in domestic solar energy development.