Jon Phillips
Biographic Data
| ID | 3721040 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jon Phillips |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jon |
| FAMILY NAME | Phillips |
| SIGNATURE | PHILLIPS J |
| AFFILIATIONS | King's College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6286-2165 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 332 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1977 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
The charcoal web
Charcoal is the predominant household energy source in many African cities and has been a major industry throughout the continent for decades. Despite charcoal’s critical importance to urban energy provision and social order, however, production and trade have often been subject to neglect, arbitrary repression, and rent extraction by African states that officially aspire to ‘modern’ energy and blame charcoal for environmental harm. This presents…
Examining facilitator experiences delivering an intervention to system-involved women with mental illnesses
Gender differences have been found in the experiences and needs of individuals involved in the criminal legal system, underscoring the importance of interventions tailored to address the needs of system-involved women. Despite this recognition, there remains a gap in understanding how to effectively implement interventions for women with mental illnesses—a population that is increasingly prevalent within correctional facilities. This qualitative …
The ‘capability’ of South African energy governance to deliver urban sustainable transitions
Critical to the trajectory and outcome of urban sustainable energy transitions is the ability of government institutions to foster conditions for change and innovation. In this paper, a theoretical perspective combining state power and local governance capability is used as a lens to examine the transition of the energy system in South Africa based on semi-structured interviews with a range of relevant stakeholders, supplemented by analysis of pu…
Latent classes among substance-involved families in child welfare
Charcoal politics in Africa
Charcoal is a primary urban energy source throughout Africa; it is also blamed for massive environmental harm, in particular deforestation and forest degradation. Despite its centrality to urbanization, rural economies, and contemporary environmental transformations, however, charcoal's politics have been relatively underexplored. This article develops three approaches to the study of charcoal politics in Africa by critically assessing the existi…
From crisis to context
The materiality of precarity
Analysis of precarity has offered a critique of labour market experiences and politically induced conditions of work, housing, migration, or essential services. This paper develops an infrastructural politics of precarity by analysing energy as a critical sphere of social and ecological reproduction. We employ precarity to understand how gendered and racialised vulnerability to energy deprivation is induced through political processes. In turn, a…
Scales of governance
In this paper, we argue for a multiscalar focus on the governance of energy policy and practice. This perspective reveals the translation of agendas and policies across scales stretching from the global to the local. We analyse South Africa’s energy landscape, which is influenced by: a highly complex and dynamic set of generation and production networks, policy strategies, multiple state and non-state actors, and the continuing impact of aparthei…
Who’s in charge of Sino-African resource politics? Situating African state agency in Ghana
Recent literature on Sino-African resource politics has emphasized the agency of African elites in relation to Chinese capital and state agencies. Yet, whether African elites have gained agency over the structure of African economies remains questionable. This paper identifies the scope and nature of Ghanaian agency in bilateral and multilateral partnerships since the discovery of oil in 2007. By analysing the negotiation and implementation of Ch…
Tensions in the transition
This paper argues that the distribution of electricity represents an important yet neglected aspect of the politics of energy transitions. In recent years, South Africa’s electricity sector has seen the introduction of new actors and technologies, including the ‘prosumer’ (producer–consumer) of electricity and small-scale embedded generation from roof-top solar photovoltaics. We analyse these recent developments in historical context and consider…
Neoliberal energy transitions in the South
What is the relationship between the direction and form of an energy transition and the political economy within which it is embedded? This paper explores how the nature of (low carbon) energy transitions is strongly influenced by the process of neoliberalisation that shape energy policy in the South. We seek to understand emergent energy transitions and to advance their theorisation through an account of the political economy of energy transitio…
Climate policy meets national development contexts
Sovereignty, the ‘resource curse’ and the limits of good governance
The idea of a resource curse has influenced policy makers and led to calls for good governance to avoid the pitfalls of oil sector development. Through discussion of Ghana's recent insertion into the global political economy of oil, this paper describes the limits of the resource curse framing and associated liberal institutional management approaches to the inherently political nature of oil exploration and production. The paper describes ways i…
The Political Economy of Energy Transitions
This paper explores the political economy of energy transition in South Africa. An economic model based around a powerful 'minerals-energy complex' that has previously been able to provide domestic and foreign capital with cheap and plentiful coal-generated electricity is no longer economically or environmentally sustainable. The paper analyses the struggle over competing energy visions, infrastructures and political agendas in order to generate …
Governance and technology transfer in the Clean Development Mechanism in India
The Political Economy of Clean Development in India
Global policies and instruments to tackle climate change look very different once translated into domestic programmes of action, reflecting varied institutional capacity, competing priorities, and diverse political cultures and political economies. In light of these variations, this article analyses how clean energy is governed in India, both through and beyond the Clean Development Mechanism. Governance processes are assessed across a number of …
New Media in Seoul After Midnight
A dispatch on the arts, technologies and cultures in the metropolitan community served by the Seoul airport
An Analysis of the Conceptual Representation of Relations
The Political Economy of Energy Transitions
This paper explores the political economy of energy transition in South Africa. An economic model based around a powerful 'minerals-energy complex' that has previously been able to provide domestic and foreign capital with cheap and plentiful coal-generated electricity is no longer economically or environmentally sustainable. The paper analyses the struggle over competing energy visions, infrastructures and political agendas in order to generate …
Neoliberal energy transitions in the South
What is the relationship between the direction and form of an energy transition and the political economy within which it is embedded? This paper explores how the nature of (low carbon) energy transitions is strongly influenced by the process of neoliberalisation that shape energy policy in the South. We seek to understand emergent energy transitions and to advance their theorisation through an account of the political economy of energy transitio…
Sovereignty, the ‘resource curse’ and the limits of good governance
The idea of a resource curse has influenced policy makers and led to calls for good governance to avoid the pitfalls of oil sector development. Through discussion of Ghana's recent insertion into the global political economy of oil, this paper describes the limits of the resource curse framing and associated liberal institutional management approaches to the inherently political nature of oil exploration and production. The paper describes ways i…
Tensions in the transition
This paper argues that the distribution of electricity represents an important yet neglected aspect of the politics of energy transitions. In recent years, South Africa’s electricity sector has seen the introduction of new actors and technologies, including the ‘prosumer’ (producer–consumer) of electricity and small-scale embedded generation from roof-top solar photovoltaics. We analyse these recent developments in historical context and consider…
Climate policy meets national development contexts
The materiality of precarity
Analysis of precarity has offered a critique of labour market experiences and politically induced conditions of work, housing, migration, or essential services. This paper develops an infrastructural politics of precarity by analysing energy as a critical sphere of social and ecological reproduction. We employ precarity to understand how gendered and racialised vulnerability to energy deprivation is induced through political processes. In turn, a…
Scales of governance
In this paper, we argue for a multiscalar focus on the governance of energy policy and practice. This perspective reveals the translation of agendas and policies across scales stretching from the global to the local. We analyse South Africa’s energy landscape, which is influenced by: a highly complex and dynamic set of generation and production networks, policy strategies, multiple state and non-state actors, and the continuing impact of aparthei…
Who’s in charge of Sino-African resource politics? Situating African state agency in Ghana
Recent literature on Sino-African resource politics has emphasized the agency of African elites in relation to Chinese capital and state agencies. Yet, whether African elites have gained agency over the structure of African economies remains questionable. This paper identifies the scope and nature of Ghanaian agency in bilateral and multilateral partnerships since the discovery of oil in 2007. By analysing the negotiation and implementation of Ch…
From crisis to context
Governance and technology transfer in the Clean Development Mechanism in India
An Analysis of the Conceptual Representation of Relations
Charcoal politics in Africa
Charcoal is a primary urban energy source throughout Africa; it is also blamed for massive environmental harm, in particular deforestation and forest degradation. Despite its centrality to urbanization, rural economies, and contemporary environmental transformations, however, charcoal's politics have been relatively underexplored. This article develops three approaches to the study of charcoal politics in Africa by critically assessing the existi…
The Political Economy of Clean Development in India
Global policies and instruments to tackle climate change look very different once translated into domestic programmes of action, reflecting varied institutional capacity, competing priorities, and diverse political cultures and political economies. In light of these variations, this article analyses how clean energy is governed in India, both through and beyond the Clean Development Mechanism. Governance processes are assessed across a number of …
An Analysis of the Conceptual Representation of Relations
New Media in Seoul After Midnight
A dispatch on the arts, technologies and cultures in the metropolitan community served by the Seoul airport
The Political Economy of Clean Development in India
Global policies and instruments to tackle climate change look very different once translated into domestic programmes of action, reflecting varied institutional capacity, competing priorities, and diverse political cultures and political economies. In light of these variations, this article analyses how clean energy is governed in India, both through and beyond the Clean Development Mechanism. Governance processes are assessed across a number of …
Governance and technology transfer in the Clean Development Mechanism in India
The Political Economy of Energy Transitions
This paper explores the political economy of energy transition in South Africa. An economic model based around a powerful 'minerals-energy complex' that has previously been able to provide domestic and foreign capital with cheap and plentiful coal-generated electricity is no longer economically or environmentally sustainable. The paper analyses the struggle over competing energy visions, infrastructures and political agendas in order to generate …
Climate policy meets national development contexts
Sovereignty, the ‘resource curse’ and the limits of good governance
The idea of a resource curse has influenced policy makers and led to calls for good governance to avoid the pitfalls of oil sector development. Through discussion of Ghana's recent insertion into the global political economy of oil, this paper describes the limits of the resource curse framing and associated liberal institutional management approaches to the inherently political nature of oil exploration and production. The paper describes ways i…
Neoliberal energy transitions in the South
What is the relationship between the direction and form of an energy transition and the political economy within which it is embedded? This paper explores how the nature of (low carbon) energy transitions is strongly influenced by the process of neoliberalisation that shape energy policy in the South. We seek to understand emergent energy transitions and to advance their theorisation through an account of the political economy of energy transitio…
Tensions in the transition
This paper argues that the distribution of electricity represents an important yet neglected aspect of the politics of energy transitions. In recent years, South Africa’s electricity sector has seen the introduction of new actors and technologies, including the ‘prosumer’ (producer–consumer) of electricity and small-scale embedded generation from roof-top solar photovoltaics. We analyse these recent developments in historical context and consider…
Who’s in charge of Sino-African resource politics? Situating African state agency in Ghana
Recent literature on Sino-African resource politics has emphasized the agency of African elites in relation to Chinese capital and state agencies. Yet, whether African elites have gained agency over the structure of African economies remains questionable. This paper identifies the scope and nature of Ghanaian agency in bilateral and multilateral partnerships since the discovery of oil in 2007. By analysing the negotiation and implementation of Ch…
Scales of governance
In this paper, we argue for a multiscalar focus on the governance of energy policy and practice. This perspective reveals the translation of agendas and policies across scales stretching from the global to the local. We analyse South Africa’s energy landscape, which is influenced by: a highly complex and dynamic set of generation and production networks, policy strategies, multiple state and non-state actors, and the continuing impact of aparthei…
The materiality of precarity
Analysis of precarity has offered a critique of labour market experiences and politically induced conditions of work, housing, migration, or essential services. This paper develops an infrastructural politics of precarity by analysing energy as a critical sphere of social and ecological reproduction. We employ precarity to understand how gendered and racialised vulnerability to energy deprivation is induced through political processes. In turn, a…
From crisis to context
Latent classes among substance-involved families in child welfare
Charcoal politics in Africa
Charcoal is a primary urban energy source throughout Africa; it is also blamed for massive environmental harm, in particular deforestation and forest degradation. Despite its centrality to urbanization, rural economies, and contemporary environmental transformations, however, charcoal's politics have been relatively underexplored. This article develops three approaches to the study of charcoal politics in Africa by critically assessing the existi…
The ‘capability’ of South African energy governance to deliver urban sustainable transitions
Critical to the trajectory and outcome of urban sustainable energy transitions is the ability of government institutions to foster conditions for change and innovation. In this paper, a theoretical perspective combining state power and local governance capability is used as a lens to examine the transition of the energy system in South Africa based on semi-structured interviews with a range of relevant stakeholders, supplemented by analysis of pu…
Examining facilitator experiences delivering an intervention to system-involved women with mental illnesses
Gender differences have been found in the experiences and needs of individuals involved in the criminal legal system, underscoring the importance of interventions tailored to address the needs of system-involved women. Despite this recognition, there remains a gap in understanding how to effectively implement interventions for women with mental illnesses—a population that is increasingly prevalent within correctional facilities. This qualitative …
The charcoal web
Charcoal is the predominant household energy source in many African cities and has been a major industry throughout the continent for decades. Despite charcoal’s critical importance to urban energy provision and social order, however, production and trade have often been subject to neglect, arbitrary repression, and rent extraction by African states that officially aspire to ‘modern’ energy and blame charcoal for environmental harm. This presents…
Political science (14 works) · Energy and Environment Impacts (11 works) · Economics (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Economic system (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Corporate governance (7 works) · Geography (6 works) · Political economy (6 works) · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance (6 works)