This article examines how members of the Swedish Parliament framed nuclear energy in the 2010 debate on the future of nuclear power in Sweden in order to understand how politicians construct and contextualize their views on the role of nuclear energy in energy transitions. Our findings suggest that four themes could be identified in the debate and that these were formative for politicians in framing nuclear energy. Even though all political actors anticipate an energy transition towards a more sustainable system, different paths to advancing in this process were brought up in the debate, both with and without prolongation of the nuclear energy program. Our analysis suggests that framings of nuclear energy are closely related to the political ideologies of the parties in the Parliament because the two framings of nuclear energy correspond with the division of the Swedish Parliament into two political blocs. However, views on nuclear energy are not inherent to political ideologies but are constructed. This article thus integrates the politics of nuclear energy within the research on energy transitions.
This article presents the results of an interview study carried out with sixteen data-protection authorities in Central and Eastern Europe. The study focuses on the way that data protection authorities reason about the past. The theoretical argument advanced in the text is that data protection in a post-communist context bears a specific historical significance due to the recent experiences with the extensive, coercive state surveillance that was systematized under the communist regimes. The article focuses on the institutional role conceptions of data protection authorities-a theoretical concept that denotes perceptions of the role of an organization within the larger institutional environment. High-level officials from data protection authorities in sixteen countries were interviewed about change and continuity in surveillance. The results show that historical reflectivity is not a dominant feature of the leadership of contemporary data protection authorities and that different countries differ considerably. The respondents least able or willing to discuss the topics of change and continuity are in societies with recent high-level surveillance scandals, such as Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
Energipolitik som upprätthåller och utökar användandet av kärnkraft motarbetas ofta av antikärnkraftsrörelser. Exempel på sådan energipolitik är de ambitiösa planerna på att utveckla kärnkraft i Ryssland, att bygga ett första kärnkraftverk i Polen, och att häva förbudet mot kärnkraft samt möjliggöra utbyte av gamla reaktorer i Sverige. I motsats till de massiva antikärnkraftsrörelserna under 1970-1990, är de nya rörelserna inte organiserade som nationella protestkampanjer. Denna avhandling undersöker vilka olika handlingssätt antikärnkraftsrörelserna i den påstådda "Nuclear Renaissance"-perioden använder.
Antikärnkraftsrörelsernas olika sätt att agera analyseras ur diskursiva och politiska möjligheter. Diskurser av antikärnkraftsrörelser är komplexa, när officiella diskurser om kärnkraft möter argument om lönsamhet, energisäkerhet och miljösäkerhet i samband med kärnkraft utveckling, anknyter den mer till en bredare socio-politiska utveckling. Diskurser etableras på ett sådant sätt att expertretorik blir en standardiserad metod för att diskutera kärnkraft, medan hänvisningar till känslor och subjektiva frågor är oacceptabla.
Det politiska sammanhanget ger möjligheter till miljöorganisationer, en typ av aktör inom antikärnkraftsrörelsen, att bedriva nonconfrontational strategier och engagera sig via institutionella kanaler, där de kan bidra med sin sakkunskap. Samtidigt som en annan aktör, lokal antikärnkraftsgrupper, å ena sidan dela argument med miljöorganisationer, men å andra sidan försök att mobilisera lokalbefolkningen och anordna lokala protester. Eftersom lokala protester inte visas i nationella medier får de begränsade möjligheter till medial uppmärksamhet, något som är avgörande för nationella protestaktioner. Skillnaderna i sätt att agera mellan dessa två typer av aktörer och frånvaro av aktörer som väljer massengagemang ger insikt i de olika handlingssätt som används av antikärnkraftsrörelser som helhet.
Abstract Neoliberal trends are a part of the sociopolitical contexts that shape present-day energy transitions. Economic arguments extensively used in nuclear energy discourses regarding the Nuclear Renaissance period may indicate that neoliberal trends have penetrated discussions about energy transitions. This article examines the presence of neoliberal rationality in the official nuclear energy discourses coming from Russia and Poland. These countries are interesting in respect to their relatively recent changes towards a market economy. Neoliberal rationality is defined in the article as the combination of market rationality, limited role of state, political consensus, governance structures and securitization, following Foucault and Brown. Discourse analysis of the energy policies and speeches of politicians that contain statements about nuclear energy development is carried out. The analysis confirms the significant presence of these themes in nuclear energy discourses as well as discourses reflecting the specificities of the two countries. The combination of the defining features of neoliberal rationality in official nuclear energy discourses seem to leave limited space for challenging nuclear energy development and discussing alternative energy transitions.
The implications of energy transitions extend beyond the often-discussed effects on jobs and retraining opportunities for workers in the carbon-intensive industries. This paper argues that the concept of justice as recognition has an untapped potential for exploring diverse types of injustices that have not received sufficient attention so far. This paper contributes to the critical discussion of the concept of recognition-based energy justice by considering recognition theory by Fraser, which has become an established approach in energy justice literature, and other recognition theories, which have already been discussed in environmental justice literature, in the context of energy transitions. Five conceptions of recognition are distinguished: the understanding of recognition as (a) equal standing without cultural domination, disrespect, and non-recognition; (b) deeper inclusion (inclusive narratives, rhetoric and greetings); (c) respect for identity and culture; (d) self-esteem; and (e) the absence of violence. The conceptual discussion is followed by an empirical analysis of recognition-based justice in the case of the planned coal phase-out in Poland. Building on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and diverse texts, the analysis demonstrates that in the case of the planned coal phase-out in Poland, three aspects of recognition may be particularly relevant – non-recognition in energy transitions, the self-esteem of local communities, and respect for culture and identity. The paper then argues that a pluralist approach to studies of recognition in energy transitions based on awareness about socio-cultural contexts of studied cases is necessary.
The empowerment of users, their active role in managing electricity use or as micro-producers, and the potential for self-sufficient local energy communities play an important role in the legitimization of smart grids and are highlighted in many policy documents. However, the extent to which energy system configurations associated with smart grids actually empower users and are socially inclusive is an open question. In this chapter, we briefly discuss the social inclusivity of smart grid roll-out in Sweden as an element of a democratic energy system and focus on how the interests and needs of some users may be disregarded and even “designed out” in the implementation process of smart grids.
Unless just and inclusive, transitions to low carbon-energy systems are unlikely to receive sufficient legitimacy and broad public support. While research on inequalities and injustices in energy transitions is growing, these issues remain less explored in the case of the digitalisation of the energy systems through smart grids and smart homes. This paper aims to synthetise our understandings of inequality, exclusion and vulnerability in energy transitions by systemically analysing different dimensions of marginalisation in the transition to a digitalised electricity infrastructure in Sweden. To synthetise understandings of marginalisation and exclusion, conceptualisations of these processes in different social science approaches to energy studies are reviewed. Moreover, an empirical analysis of interviews with a range of Swedish actors such as energy utilities, social housing developers or pensioner organisations is carried out and enriched by previous research on smart grid users. The empirical analysis demonstrates what specific forms that diverse categories of marginalisation, as already identified generally in different social science approaches to energy studies, may take in smart grids. We argue that marginalisation of household users in smart grids may take place along multiple dimensions, relating to matters of literacy, participation, infrastructure, and the economy. The analysis suggests that bundles of marginalisation aspects concerning household users in sustainable energy transitions should be recognised and addressed simultaneously.
Smart grid development is an area where the discussion about who can be negatively affected by low-carbon energy transitions has progressed. The research on vulnerable households in smart grids often focuses on how potentially vulnerable groups react to smart energy technologies. This paper contributes to the literature by highlighting how a broad range of actors in society think about neglected and vulnerable households in smart grids. The research question concerns how stakeholders frame potential inequalities, differentiations, and vulnerabilities in smart grids in Sweden. The frame analysis is carried out, building on interviews with national and local public authorities dealing with energy issues and consumer advice, actors involved in developing, testing, and using smart energy technologies as well as interest organizations representing diverse social groups. Three narratives are identified that frame potentially neglected households as consumers without economic benefits; as users without technological interests, competences, and access to technologies; and as households with intersecting vulnerabilities. It is argued that, since there could be different interpretations of inequalities in smart grids, the governance of smart grids, and specifically discussions of neglected/vulnerable households in smart grids, can benefit from the involvement of a broad coalition of actors.