Wildlife Protection in Germany: Sound Legislation and Deficient Implementation

National, European, and international legislation regulates wildlife protection in Germany. Germany has comprehensively codified into national legislation numerous international and regional treaties. Furthermore, European Union regulations are directly binding in its Member States. Yet Germany’s implementation of wildlife protection laws remains wanting. The gap between the country’s comprehensive legal framework and related enforcement is glaring. Germany’s decentralized administrative structure embedded in its federal system is the main impediment to better implementation of wildlife protection laws. While the country’s federal structure might stand in the way of more centralized enforcement, a more coordinated approach still offers a realistic remedy to narrow the gap between Germany’s legislation and enforcement. This article discusses Germany’s wildlife protection laws, analyzes its enforcement approach, and recommends ways to improve

Resistance to Energy Transitions

While the global effects of climate change are accelerating at an alarming rate, climate policy is not keeping pace. This special issue addresses domestic constraints on climate action around the world. Specifically, our authors analyze the multifaceted resistance to energy transitions arising in a variety of industrialized democracies, including the USA, Germany, Japan, the UK, and Switzerland. We develop politics-oriented explanations within an institutionalist framework. Each article focuses on a different aspect of resistance to energy transitions, involving different actors and political institutions. Taken together, they help explain the unsteady trajectory of energy transitions even in countries where support for climate action is robust

Resistance to Energy Transitions

While the global effects of climate change are accelerating at an alarming rate, climate policy is not keeping pace. This special issue addresses domestic constraints on climate action around the world. Specifically, our authors analyze the multifaceted resistance to energy transitions arising in a variety of industrialized democracies, including the USA, Germany, Japan, the UK, and Switzerland. We develop politics-oriented explanations within an institutionalist framework. Each article focuses on a different aspect of resistance to energy transitions, involving different actors and political institutions. Taken together, they help explain the unsteady trajectory of energy transitions even in countries where support for climate action is robust

Diktatorendämmerung: Nordafrika und Nahost: schwache Regime und starke Oppositionsbewegungen

"Die jüngsten Ereignisse im Nahen Osten und in Nordafrika haben sogar versierte Beobachter überrascht. Eigentlich galt die Region als ein Hort stabiler Diktaturen. Doch innerhalb von Wochen gelang es den Bürgern, zwei Diktatoren aus dem Amt zu jagen; andere Autokraten könnten bald folgen. Der konstante Niedergang der politischen und wirtschaftlichen Machtbasis der autokratischen Regime in Verbindung mit der Erhebung einer mit Web-2.0 vertrauten Jugendbewegung hat letztendlich eine überraschende Möglichkeit für weitreichende Reformen ermöglicht. Ob diese Chance ergriffen wird, bleibt abzuwarten." (Autorenreferat)"Recent events in the Middle East and North Africa have surprised even adept observers. The region was presumably a harbor of stable dictatorships. Yet within weeks, citizens forced two dictators from power and other autocrats might soon follow. The steady decline of the autocratic regimes' political and economic power base, in conjunction with the rise of a Web 2.0-experienced youth movement, has ultimately opened an unexpected window of opportunity for far-reaching reforms. Whether this opportunity will be seized upon remains to be seen." (author's abstract