Leading the way with examples and ideas? Governing climate change in German municipalities through best practices

摘要

Radical uncertainties associated with climate change require cognitive, symbolic, and material resources to make responses manageable and governable. Best practices are often considered to provide answers to these challenges. At the national and international levels, it is usually taken for granted that the replication of best practice examples can lead to a policy change. However, this assumption lacks empirical evidence, as best practices feature sticky and place-bound characteristics. This limits their use for the diffusion of their content and the transition to a low-carbon society. This article critically investigates the main functions (enabling, lobbying, place-marketing, and replication) of best practices in the daily governance of climate change in municipalities. It draws on in-depth insights resulting from expert interviews, participatory observation, and documentary analysis of a set of German municipalities. Understanding the practicalities on the ground explains why the expectations about best practices and their actual effects differ significantly. This article illustrates that this mismatch can be understood not as a simple failure of a governing technique, but rather, as a result of the inherently conflict-laden interplay of rationalities and technologies of government.