Capture or Empowerment

Governing Citizens and the Environment in the European Renewable Energy Transition

Bibliographic Data

ID7592986
AuthorsKellan Anfinson (0000-0003-2006-0062, Eindhoven University of Technology, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume117
Issue3
Pages927-939
Publication date2023-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003055422001034
OpenAlexW4304616394
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited39

The European renewable energy transition is a leading model for responding to the urgent threat of climate change, which it does by empowering citizens. Drawing on Foucault’s analysis of German neoliberalism, this article argues that despite some measure of empowerment, the economic constraints structuring the transition ultimately disempower citizens, undermining the attainment of environmental goals. Specifically, the transition gives citizens control of their energy while burdening them with entrepreneurial tasks to do so, substitutes economic activity for political citizenship, and shifts the epistemological terrain they take for granted when determining what environmental crises society faces and how best to respond. Understanding the transition as composed of theories for sustainability governance, policies, and practices of implementation, this article analyzes the “energetic society” governance theory, the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package, and the renewable energy organization REScoop.eu

Citizenship · Corporate governance · Economic system · Economics · Empowerment · Energy transition · Management · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Renewable energy · Sociology · Sustainability · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Law · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

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