Vanessa Bowden
Biographic Data
| ID | 195087 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Vanessa Bowden |
| GIVEN NAMES | Vanessa |
| FAMILY NAME | Bowden |
| SIGNATURE | BOWDEN V |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Newcastle Australia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6642-2826 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 54 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Obstructing change: Political inertia and the maintenance of climate inaction in Australia
Despite widespread public concern and mounting climate impacts, Australia’s climate policy remains stalled. This paper investigates how political, industrial, and environmental actors narrate climate change and each other, contributing to persistent inaction. Drawing on 62 interviews with key stakeholders, we identify three mechanisms – division, paralysis, and displacement – that sustain political inertia. These mechanisms operate through compet…
Feeling climate change: How emotions govern our responses to the climate emergency
Coal Exists, Therefore it Must be dug up: The Non-Imagining of Socio-Technical Change in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
As the world’s second largest exporter of coal, Australia has been notoriously reticent to facilitate the technological transitions required to alleviate climate change. The influence of the mining lobby has been well documented, as have the machinations of successive governments, who have had little success in overcoming this influence, or determination to do so. Yet communities in coal mining regions of the Hunter Valley are increasingly, and a…
Elements of power: Material-political entanglements in Australia's fossil fuel hegemony
Anthropocentric climate change presents an existential threat through impacts such as rising sea levels, effects on agricultural crops and extreme weather events. However, governments, businesses and communities struggle to wean off fossil fuel dependency. In this article, we argue that this is due to the grip of fossil fuel hegemony. To explain this grip, we draw on the theoretical perspectives of new materialism to examine how fossil fuels and …
‘We’re in the coal business’: Maintaining fossil fuel hegemony in the face of climate change
Despite the worsening climate crisis and market shifts towards decarbonization, Australia remains heavily invested in carbon-intensive activities. As one of the world's largest exporters of coal and gas, Australian political economy has been dominated over the last several decades by fossil fuel expansionism. In this article, we explore how Australian corporate and political elites have defended the continuation of fossil fuel extraction and use …
Making green extreme: Defending Fossil Fuel Hegemony Through Citizen Exclusion
By marking protests as violent and protesters as extremists, politicians and governments around the world have reclassified citizens’ environmental engagement. Government rhetoric and accompanying legislative amendments establish a baseline by which citizens – and their causes – are excluded and discounted. This article contributes to understanding how environmental protesters and their activities are constructed as dangerous through analysis of …
“We’re Going Under”: The Role of Local News Media in Dislocating Climate Change Adaptation
As carbon emissions continue to rise, the need to adapt to climate impacts has become increasingly urgent. Planning and implementing climate adaptation is often left to local authorities and is fraught with the challenge of negotiating with multiple stakeholders holding differing interpretations of climate change. In such a space, local media has a critical role in communicating these differing perspectives within communities. In this article we …
Beyond the discourse of denial: The reproduction of fossil fuel hegemony in Australia
The revolution’s never done: The Role of ‘Radical Imagination’ Within Anti-Capitalist Environmental Justice Activism
Many individuals become involved in activism due to concerns about contemporary structural conditions and likely (negative) futures arising from them. While negative perceptions are important for driving initial involvement, visions of positive alternative futures to work towards can be crucial for motivating and shaping activist engagement. Positive visions serve as a goal as well as a potential blueprint to inform practices such that the ‘means…
I don't think anybody really knows: Constructing reflexive ignorance in climate change adaptation
Responding to the existential threat of climate change is often seen as requiring greater reflexivity. Imbued with notions of resilience and reflection, reflexivity is assumed to contribute to pro-environmental change. However, as the need to manage climate impacts becomes more immediate, political struggles over climate adaptation have become increasingly apparent. These impacts occur most often within local communities, in the context of compet…
Truth and power: Deliberation and Emotions in Climate Adaptation Processes
As the polarisation of climate politics feeds into ‘post-truth’ politics, one response has been a call for the reassertion of a previously agreed upon ‘reality’. However, it is important to recognise that knowledge has always been contested and contingent. This is particularly salient concerning climate change, where multiple truth claims compete in the media, politics, and social movements. One means of addressing this is through deliberation, w…
Planning for the past: Local temporality and the construction of denial in climate change adaptation
‘Life. Brought to you by’ … coal? Business responses to climate change in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
In Australia, policies to mitigate climate change seem to disappear as quickly as they come. After a number of hurdles, the centre-oriented Labor government eventually succeeded in implementing a price on carbon in 2012, only to be voted out and have it repealed 2 years later. This article outlines the views of business leaders’ attitudes to climate change in the lead up to implementation, offering a unique perspective of where they converge and …
Cultural ontologies of cancer in India
India has undergone a considerable epidemiological transition in the past few decades. The rise of cancer and other chronic illnesses has, and will continue to have, a substantial impact on the overall burden of disease, as well as the lived experiences of illness in India. Little is known about the cultural inflection of cancer in the Indian medical, historical and religious/spiritual landscape, which is both highly varied and rapidly changing. …
Illness Experiences, Collective Decisions, and the Therapeutic Encounter in Indian Oncology
Social science scholarship on cancer has been almost exclusively focused on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, despite a significant epidemiological transition taking place in many non-OECD contexts, with cancer emerging as a prominent, and strongly feared, illness experience. With cancer gaining an increasingly high profile in India, there is an urgent need to explore how experiences of cancer may be socially…
Don't shoot the messenger: How business leaders get their bearings on a matter of science
The views of business leaders are of particular interest where climate change policies are concerned. This is a study based on interviews with business leaders in the Hunter region. The sociological literature suggests either that the business community will be split according to industry, or that the business community as a whole will resist regulation. Our study finds differences of opinion in the business community somewhat marginal. Interview…
Stumbling towards collapse: Coming to Terms With the Climate Crisis
Leading sociologists have approached the climate crisis by emphasising a way forward and identifying hopeful directions. What sense is to be made of suggestions that we are instead on the brink of a ‘collapse’ in which the crisis is not resolved but leads to the end of existing civilisation? Partly based on three studies of contemporary opinion in the Hunter Valley in Australia, a coal industry centre, this discussion is also based on an examinat…
Beyond the discourse of denial: The reproduction of fossil fuel hegemony in Australia
Planning for the past: Local temporality and the construction of denial in climate change adaptation
Stumbling towards collapse: Coming to Terms With the Climate Crisis
Leading sociologists have approached the climate crisis by emphasising a way forward and identifying hopeful directions. What sense is to be made of suggestions that we are instead on the brink of a ‘collapse’ in which the crisis is not resolved but leads to the end of existing civilisation? Partly based on three studies of contemporary opinion in the Hunter Valley in Australia, a coal industry centre, this discussion is also based on an examinat…
Making green extreme: Defending Fossil Fuel Hegemony Through Citizen Exclusion
By marking protests as violent and protesters as extremists, politicians and governments around the world have reclassified citizens’ environmental engagement. Government rhetoric and accompanying legislative amendments establish a baseline by which citizens – and their causes – are excluded and discounted. This article contributes to understanding how environmental protesters and their activities are constructed as dangerous through analysis of …
The revolution’s never done: The Role of ‘Radical Imagination’ Within Anti-Capitalist Environmental Justice Activism
Many individuals become involved in activism due to concerns about contemporary structural conditions and likely (negative) futures arising from them. While negative perceptions are important for driving initial involvement, visions of positive alternative futures to work towards can be crucial for motivating and shaping activist engagement. Positive visions serve as a goal as well as a potential blueprint to inform practices such that the ‘means…
Truth and power: Deliberation and Emotions in Climate Adaptation Processes
As the polarisation of climate politics feeds into ‘post-truth’ politics, one response has been a call for the reassertion of a previously agreed upon ‘reality’. However, it is important to recognise that knowledge has always been contested and contingent. This is particularly salient concerning climate change, where multiple truth claims compete in the media, politics, and social movements. One means of addressing this is through deliberation, w…
Illness Experiences, Collective Decisions, and the Therapeutic Encounter in Indian Oncology
Social science scholarship on cancer has been almost exclusively focused on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, despite a significant epidemiological transition taking place in many non-OECD contexts, with cancer emerging as a prominent, and strongly feared, illness experience. With cancer gaining an increasingly high profile in India, there is an urgent need to explore how experiences of cancer may be socially…
I don't think anybody really knows: Constructing reflexive ignorance in climate change adaptation
Responding to the existential threat of climate change is often seen as requiring greater reflexivity. Imbued with notions of resilience and reflection, reflexivity is assumed to contribute to pro-environmental change. However, as the need to manage climate impacts becomes more immediate, political struggles over climate adaptation have become increasingly apparent. These impacts occur most often within local communities, in the context of compet…
Don't shoot the messenger: How business leaders get their bearings on a matter of science
The views of business leaders are of particular interest where climate change policies are concerned. This is a study based on interviews with business leaders in the Hunter region. The sociological literature suggests either that the business community will be split according to industry, or that the business community as a whole will resist regulation. Our study finds differences of opinion in the business community somewhat marginal. Interview…
Stumbling towards collapse: Coming to Terms With the Climate Crisis
Leading sociologists have approached the climate crisis by emphasising a way forward and identifying hopeful directions. What sense is to be made of suggestions that we are instead on the brink of a ‘collapse’ in which the crisis is not resolved but leads to the end of existing civilisation? Partly based on three studies of contemporary opinion in the Hunter Valley in Australia, a coal industry centre, this discussion is also based on an examinat…
Don't shoot the messenger: How business leaders get their bearings on a matter of science
The views of business leaders are of particular interest where climate change policies are concerned. This is a study based on interviews with business leaders in the Hunter region. The sociological literature suggests either that the business community will be split according to industry, or that the business community as a whole will resist regulation. Our study finds differences of opinion in the business community somewhat marginal. Interview…
‘Life. Brought to you by’ … coal? Business responses to climate change in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
In Australia, policies to mitigate climate change seem to disappear as quickly as they come. After a number of hurdles, the centre-oriented Labor government eventually succeeded in implementing a price on carbon in 2012, only to be voted out and have it repealed 2 years later. This article outlines the views of business leaders’ attitudes to climate change in the lead up to implementation, offering a unique perspective of where they converge and …
Cultural ontologies of cancer in India
India has undergone a considerable epidemiological transition in the past few decades. The rise of cancer and other chronic illnesses has, and will continue to have, a substantial impact on the overall burden of disease, as well as the lived experiences of illness in India. Little is known about the cultural inflection of cancer in the Indian medical, historical and religious/spiritual landscape, which is both highly varied and rapidly changing. …
Illness Experiences, Collective Decisions, and the Therapeutic Encounter in Indian Oncology
Social science scholarship on cancer has been almost exclusively focused on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, despite a significant epidemiological transition taking place in many non-OECD contexts, with cancer emerging as a prominent, and strongly feared, illness experience. With cancer gaining an increasingly high profile in India, there is an urgent need to explore how experiences of cancer may be socially…
Planning for the past: Local temporality and the construction of denial in climate change adaptation
Truth and power: Deliberation and Emotions in Climate Adaptation Processes
As the polarisation of climate politics feeds into ‘post-truth’ politics, one response has been a call for the reassertion of a previously agreed upon ‘reality’. However, it is important to recognise that knowledge has always been contested and contingent. This is particularly salient concerning climate change, where multiple truth claims compete in the media, politics, and social movements. One means of addressing this is through deliberation, w…
“We’re Going Under”: The Role of Local News Media in Dislocating Climate Change Adaptation
As carbon emissions continue to rise, the need to adapt to climate impacts has become increasingly urgent. Planning and implementing climate adaptation is often left to local authorities and is fraught with the challenge of negotiating with multiple stakeholders holding differing interpretations of climate change. In such a space, local media has a critical role in communicating these differing perspectives within communities. In this article we …
Beyond the discourse of denial: The reproduction of fossil fuel hegemony in Australia
The revolution’s never done: The Role of ‘Radical Imagination’ Within Anti-Capitalist Environmental Justice Activism
Many individuals become involved in activism due to concerns about contemporary structural conditions and likely (negative) futures arising from them. While negative perceptions are important for driving initial involvement, visions of positive alternative futures to work towards can be crucial for motivating and shaping activist engagement. Positive visions serve as a goal as well as a potential blueprint to inform practices such that the ‘means…
I don't think anybody really knows: Constructing reflexive ignorance in climate change adaptation
Responding to the existential threat of climate change is often seen as requiring greater reflexivity. Imbued with notions of resilience and reflection, reflexivity is assumed to contribute to pro-environmental change. However, as the need to manage climate impacts becomes more immediate, political struggles over climate adaptation have become increasingly apparent. These impacts occur most often within local communities, in the context of compet…
‘We’re in the coal business’: Maintaining fossil fuel hegemony in the face of climate change
Despite the worsening climate crisis and market shifts towards decarbonization, Australia remains heavily invested in carbon-intensive activities. As one of the world's largest exporters of coal and gas, Australian political economy has been dominated over the last several decades by fossil fuel expansionism. In this article, we explore how Australian corporate and political elites have defended the continuation of fossil fuel extraction and use …
Making green extreme: Defending Fossil Fuel Hegemony Through Citizen Exclusion
By marking protests as violent and protesters as extremists, politicians and governments around the world have reclassified citizens’ environmental engagement. Government rhetoric and accompanying legislative amendments establish a baseline by which citizens – and their causes – are excluded and discounted. This article contributes to understanding how environmental protesters and their activities are constructed as dangerous through analysis of …
Elements of power: Material-political entanglements in Australia's fossil fuel hegemony
Anthropocentric climate change presents an existential threat through impacts such as rising sea levels, effects on agricultural crops and extreme weather events. However, governments, businesses and communities struggle to wean off fossil fuel dependency. In this article, we argue that this is due to the grip of fossil fuel hegemony. To explain this grip, we draw on the theoretical perspectives of new materialism to examine how fossil fuels and …
Coal Exists, Therefore it Must be dug up: The Non-Imagining of Socio-Technical Change in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
As the world’s second largest exporter of coal, Australia has been notoriously reticent to facilitate the technological transitions required to alleviate climate change. The influence of the mining lobby has been well documented, as have the machinations of successive governments, who have had little success in overcoming this influence, or determination to do so. Yet communities in coal mining regions of the Hunter Valley are increasingly, and a…
Feeling climate change: How emotions govern our responses to the climate emergency
Obstructing change: Political inertia and the maintenance of climate inaction in Australia
Despite widespread public concern and mounting climate impacts, Australia’s climate policy remains stalled. This paper investigates how political, industrial, and environmental actors narrate climate change and each other, contributing to persistent inaction. Drawing on 62 interviews with key stakeholders, we identify three mechanisms – division, paralysis, and displacement – that sustain political inertia. These mechanisms operate through compet…
Political science (15 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Climate change (11 works) · Politics (11 works) · Law (9 works) · Political economy (9 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (8 works) · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance (7 works) · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy (6 works) · Ecology (5 works)