{"word_count": 252, "character_count": 1744}
Climate Policy Changes in Germany and Japan - A Path to Paradigmatic Policy Change / Rie Watanabe. London: Routledge, 2011.http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415615754/This book is the revised version of Rie Watanabe's doctoral thesis submitted to the Free University of Berlin,  in April 2009.The study compares two decades of climate policy development in Germany and Japan. It examines whether there is any difference between the types and levels of policy change in the two countries, and, if so, what factors account for the difference. Using a comparison of climate policy changes in Germany and Japan from 1987 to 2005 as a basis, it also discusses the effectiveness and the limits of existing theories of policy change and policy process, most notably the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Punctuated Equilibrium Approach, Multiple Stream Approach and new institutionalism, and explores the theoretical question as to how long-term, paradigmatic policy change takes place. The book lastly presents a hypothetical model of the process/mechanism of paradigmatic policy change. The study selects Germany and Japan as case countries since the two countries form a useful comparative approach to the issue of climate change. They represent the range of types and levels of changes in policies to control CO2 emissions in the industrial and energy sectors (dependent variables), while also demonstrating similarities in a number of independent variables: the size and structure of their economies; their shares in global GHG emissions; their general policy-making styles, including strong administrative systems and close relationships between ministries and industries; and their general environmental policies. (© Watanabe)