Contested Energy Spaces by Tarje I. Wanvik

Author:Tarje I. Wanvik
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030023966
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

5.5 Conclusion

From this perspective, transformation is not dependent upon some future overthrow of the “system as a whole”. Change always occurs in particular assemblages by way of reconfiguration, adaptation and conversion. Dramatic changes in one assemblage can destabilize other assemblages to which it is attached. Assemblages can have emergent capacities for change that are difficult to see because change is contingent upon interaction with other component parts. Our purpose here is not to argue for a complete adoption of DeLanda’s assemblage thinking by energy geography (that would go against the very intention of thinking with assemblages). However, moving away from theoretically constructing near-total coherence around the elements of “petroculture” (Marriott & Minio-Paluello, 2012), “fossil capitalism” (Huber, 2013), “carbon democracy” (Mitchell, 2011) helps us theorize and visualize change processes and potentials. Assemblage thinking provides us with an effective social ontology and a vocabulary for this purpose.

I would argue that there is a need to reconceptualize the stabilities and instabilities of fossil fuel-based societies in ways that reveal new pathways for change and transformation. This should in no way disregard the significant permanence created by the embeddedness of energy in various aspects of society, which would obviously overlook important historical experience. However, if we are to understand how stabilities interact with volatility and instabilities—which are also important aspects of historical experience, then we need theoretical frameworks that enable us to identify and analyse them. In the next section, in the first of three case studies, I employ three different analytical lenses through which to examine these instabilities.

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