Ludger Gailing

The Social Construction of Landscapes: Two Theoretical Lenses and Their Empirical Applications

Abstract There is growing interest amongst landscape researchers on social constructivist perspectives on landscapes. This paper discusses two ways of conceptualising the social construction of landscapes: historical institutionalism and post-structuralist discourse theory. The aim is to explore the opportunities that both approaches offer, and to assess their strengths and limitations. Drawing on two local case studies from Germany, we illuminate the ontologies of landscape implied by the two theoretical lenses, how they conceive of the social construction of landscapes, and finally the ways in which they can inform political processes. Both approaches apply an anti-essentialist agenda, though in different ways. Whereas in historical institutionalism materiality is treated as separated from the social sphere, in post-structuralist discourse theory material objects, practices, subjects and linguistic utterances are all part of relational systems of meaning called discourse. Both approaches can contribute to a more democratic and pluralistic practice of landscape planning and policy-making.

Energy Transitions and Power: Between Governmentality and Depoliticization

This chapter focuses on a crucial aspect in energy transitions that has to date not received major attention: questions of power. Arguing that power and power relations constitute decisive determinants in energy transitions, the chapter explores ways of linking the concepts of governmentality and depoliticization in order to incorporate both actor- and non-actor-based power shifts in the study of energy transitions. The chapter provides an empirical illustration of how this combined conceptualization could be applied to study power shifts, exploring the case of contestation over wind energy in eastern Germany. It concludes that using both governmentality and depoliticization approaches offers a promising path to study the practices, tactics and discourses underpinning shifts in power relations.

Die Akteure der neuen Energielandschaften – Das Beispiel Brandenburg

Die neuen Energielandschaften sind nicht nur Produkte des derzeitigen sozio-technologischen Wandels im Rahmen der Energiewende, sondern auch ein neues Forschungsfeld. Fachwissenschaftliche Debattenbeitrage zu den neuen Energielandschaften (vgl. exemplarisch Jessel 2011; Peters 2010; Schobel 2012; Tischer 2011) thematisieren die brisanten physisch-materiellen Folgen der Energiewende, deren konflikttrachtige Sichtbarkeit im Landschaftsbild sowie juristische, gestalterische und planerische Steuerungsmoglichkeiten.

Political landscapes between manifestations and democracy, identities and power

Abstract This editorial discusses the importance of a political perspective on landscapes and comes to the conclusion that political aspects can be discovered in virtually all landscapes as they are inevitably imbued with politics, antagonistic dimensions and power. It furthermore analyses previous research on political landscapes and on ‘the political’ in relation to landscapes. It does so with reference to four key aspects: (a) physical and representational manifestations, (b) landscape democracy, (c) collective or individual identities and (d) productive or repressive power relationships. These aspects establish a framework according to which the subsequent papers of this special issue are introduced. Finally, a tentative agenda for further research on ‘political landscapes’ is outlined.

Germany’s Energiewende and the Spatial Reconfiguration of an Energy System

Germany’s energy transition (Energiewende) is highly instructive on how the shift from nuclear to renewable energy can reconfigure the institutional arrangements, power relations, socio-materiality and spatial structures of an energy system. This brief chapter sets the scene for subsequent empirical illustrations by characterizing the institutional framework of the German Energiewende, in terms of EU policy on liberalization and privatization, economic incentives for private investment in renewable energies and national government planning initiatives for grid development. From this, we identify the spatial dimensions of the Energiewende, drawing attention to processes of rescaling and decentralizing Germany’s electricity system. The chapter concludes by summarizing the principal research challenges for social scientists working in this under-theorized field.

Energy Transitions and Materiality: Between Dispositives, Assemblages and Metabolisms

Building on recent interest in the ‘material turn’ in the social sciences, this chapter explores diverse ways of conceptualizing the socio-materiality of energy transitions. It selects three fields of scholarship on the co-production of material and social phenomena: dispositives, assemblages and metabolisms. It analyses each one according to common analytical criteria to assess and compare how they address socio-materiality, drawing out significant differences and areas of complementarity. The value of the three approaches in analysing energy transitions is illustrated with two empirical cases from the German Energiewende: on local energy autarky around a waste-to-energy initiative and on energy-efficient refurbishment of residential buildings. The chapter concludes with recommendations on how this knowledge can enrich future studies of energy transitions.

Transforming energy systems by transforming power relations. Insights from dispositive thinking and governmentality studies

Energy transitions bring about changes in the infrastructural energy system and in the social sphere. Crucially, these changes touch upon power relations. Thus, studying the social order through the perspective of the energy system should include an understanding of “power”. Dispositive thinking and governmentality studies are two promising approaches for conceptualizing power relations. Whereas dispositive thinking is important for understanding powerful and strategic socio-material configurations, the concept of governmentality provides a framework for the analysis of how and why individuals adopt certain subject positions in the face of technologies of power. The value of the two approaches is illustrated with an empirical case study from the German Energiewende: renewable energy development in north-western Brandenburg. The paper concludes by comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of dispositive thinking and governmentality studies and by discussing how further research on the role of power in energy systems can be conceptualized.

Conclusions and Outlook for Future Energy Transitions Research

This concluding chapter summarizes the principal findings of the book. Drawing on the lessons emerging from Chapters 3 to 6, the authors develop a framework for conceptualizing the socio-material and political geography of energy transitions. They subsequently map out an agenda for future research on ways of conceptualizing the IMPS nexus in energy transitions. In doing so, they indicate not only how specific research debates could benefit from engaging more with other conceptual approaches, but also where the limitations to conceptual syntheses lie. The chapter concludes with reflections on the challenges of researching energy transitions with the help of the conceptual approaches discussed in the book and possible ways of dealing with them, drawing on experiences made during the research project underpinning the book.