The Global Political Economy of Energy Transitions Revised May 2018 accepted.pdf (825.25 kB)
Trasformismo or Transformation? The global political economy of energy transitions
What does IPE have to contribute to pressing policy and academic debates about the urgently required transition to a low carbon global economy? Despite the obviously global, political and economic dimensions of such a transition – often likened to the ‘great transformation’ or the Industrial Revolution in its magnitude – insights from IPE have yet to be brought to bear on the question of what form such a transition might take: the relations of power which will frustrate or enable it; the historical precedents for previous transformations in dominant structures of production, finance and technology in the global economy; and the potentially central role of the state and institutions of global governance. This article seeks to contribute to the analysis of transitions grounded in different strands of literature from neo-Gramscian and historical materialist IPE and political economy more broadly. It focusses, in turn, on the role of the state in transitions; the ways in which the globalisation of the global economy structures the possibility and likely form of transitions; and the role of global governance institutions in key energy and economic domains. For scholars of IPE, it demonstrates the centrality of energy in linking power, production and world order and highlights the need to further engage with questions of transformation in energy systems that are central to the organisation of the global political economy. This throws up questions around production, finance, technology, governance and justice which IPE scholars should be well placed to speak to, while requiring that energy takes up its rightful place as a lens for understanding and revising orthodox comprehensions of political, economic and social processes.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Review of International Political EconomyISSN
0969-2290Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
26Page range
25-48Department affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Centre for Global Political Economy Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-06-01First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-05-13First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-05-31Usage metrics
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