Annette Henning

The illusion of economic objectivity: linking local risks of credibility loss to global risks of climate change

This article analyses economic thinking as a conceptual construct and discusses the link it provides between local risks of losing credibility and global risks of resource depletion and climate change. Due to the high‐ranking value given to economic thinking in many Swedish contexts, economic arguments are perfect ways to win an argument or negotiation, to prevent risks of losing credibility, or to discredit others. As illustrated in this article, legitimacy‐creating acts of communication tend to precede or follow upon a decision to install a solar heating system. An immediate and massive use of solar energy for heating purposes would mitigate the risks of global warming and depletion of energy resources. Unfortunately however, the conspicuous use of economic arguments accompanying solar heating installations tends to be interpreted by policy‐makers as a preference for economic motives rather than a sign of questioned consumption. The illusion that economy is an objective entity rising above all other social issues seems to be confirmed, and political measures based on economic thinking can continue to block adequate steps towards the mitigation of climate changing emissions. The cultural representation of economic sovereignty is continuously reproduced through communication. It is a circle; a vicious circle if you like.

Temporal landscapes for the public good: negotiating solar collectors among ancient remains

This article concerns the contested siting of a solar collector field in Torsång, Sweden, a designated area of national heritage. The contest is described as a ‘planning drama’ and a locally articulated controversy between two national policies and priorities: national heritage versus sustainable development. Two professional groups are at the centre of this drama: antiquarians at the County Administrative Board, and a group of employees at the municipally owned utility company. The article focuses in particular on the clash of two knowledge systems; how these are expressed, clarified and elaborated on when being confronted with one another in this specific situation. Temporal, horizontal and vertical scales are used to analyse the material. Contrary to what has previously been assumed to be the case for modern Western societies, the contested landscapes are shown to depend for their realization or destruction, not only on temporal and horizontal dimensions, but also on a vertical dimension including artefacts above and below the surface. The struggle to find a solution that everyone could agree on was not merely a matter of making two conflicting ways of perceiving this land come to terms. It was, in fact, an attempt to force two incommensurable landscapes into the same piece of land.

The use of three perspectives to make energy implementation studies more culturally informed

BackgroundIn our research on the social and technical feasibility of a small-scale electrical power system in Tanzania, we have perceived a need for an alternative framework or method for social scientific studies of limited scope. The approach we suggest is also a response to the growing criticism of cultural ignorance with which many energy implementation projects are handled.MethodsTheories from Social Anthropology and Sociology form the core of the approach we present. In addition, concepts from Science and Technology studies are used, as well as lessons learned from History of Technology. We suggest that particular attention should be paid to three aspects: identification of social actors, perceptions of change, and long-term feasibility and sustainability. The approach has been developed and concretised through application in our own research.ResultsTo elucidate our suggested approach, we use examples and results from our ongoing research project, in which the ‘Three-perspectives-approach’ is currently applied.ConclusionsWe have combined theories, approaches and knowledge from different disciplines in order to formulate a framework for studies of social aspects of energy projects that is structured, concise and comparable. The approach is developed to target multi-disciplinary researchers with limited training in social scientific research. It may also be used by project implementers, or as a way for social scientists to present their findings in a way that facilitates for non-social scientists to integrate them into practice. We suggest that the Three-perspectives-approach may be applied independently, or as a complement to other tools.