2022 Volume 22 Pages 127-140
Sustainability transitions can be promoted by policies pursuing long-term social benefits, but such long-term goals are often disregarded in policy making due to the myopia of democracy. This paper aims at proposing a multidimensional policy analysis method to derive essential insights to achieve the sustainability from case studies and to gain useful knowledge for designing policy making and implementation processes. A multidimensional policy analysis is practiced on decentralized energy systems and the Special Renewable Energy Act 2011 which fostered its development. The analysis is composed of a policy process analysis at the social level, case studies at the context level on the projects in Higashi Matsushima (Miyagi), Nakanojo (Gunma), and Odawara (Kanagawa), and a synthesis of the analyses at the two levels. The analysis at the context level conceptualized factors contributing to the sustainability of project that include a reciprocal relationship among stakeholders, which enhance the autonomy as a business, and measures to secure stakeholders’ continuous commitment to the project goals. It could be suggested from a synthesizing argument based on the analyses at the two levels that measures to enhance the project sustainability were restricted due to the policy design primarily aiming for rapid Quantitative expansion of renewable energy production. Multidimensional policy analysis can produce policy ideas, including ones on institutionalization of good practices, and fundamental knowledge to develop possible political interventions for certain policy making and institutionalization.
