IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/voodps/52017.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Conceptualizing power in the context of climate change: A multi-theoretical perspective on structure, agency & power relations

Author

Listed:
  • Stör, Lorenz

Abstract

The predominantly positivist approach in economics towards the object of study is not able to grasp power and domination in its complex interaction of agency and structure. Also in ecological economics and its critique to economic growth, there is a lack of conceptualizations that are sensible to questions of power. The work reveals such deficits and offers a comprehensive theory overview. This overview is then contextualized along the political-economic facets of climate change. The introductory chapter discusses fundamental aspects of power in the context of structure and agency. The common positivist approach in economics is complemented by a post-positivist approach in the following chapter. Critical realism serves as a philosophy of science to acknowledge and integrate structure and agency as forms of power. The third chapter provides an historical overview of selected theories of power. It depicts how the strategic and the episodic understanding of power by Machiavelli and Hobbes respectively, informed later power theories. Theorists such as Dahl, Bachrach & Baratz, Lukes, Gramsci, Laclau & Mouffe, Giddens, Foucault and Clegg are discussed. The aim is to highlight the relevance for a multiplicity of power concepts in economic research. The following chapter puts in context their respective positions on human agency and social structures as the source of power. The fifth chapter initiates an outlook for potential power research on future global challenges. The powers that play a role in the quest for solutions on the issue of climate change are systematically separated in the multiple levels of agency, mechanisms and structure. This serves as an exemplary case to depict the complexity but relevance of power on objects of research in ecological economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Stör, Lorenz, 2017. "Conceptualizing power in the context of climate change: A multi-theoretical perspective on structure, agency & power relations," VÖÖ Discussion Papers 5/2017, Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie e.V. (VÖÖ).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:voodps:52017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/150540/1/880034939.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ngai-Ling Sum & Bob Jessop, 2013. "Towards a Cultural Political Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3605.
    2. Stewart Clegg & David Courpasson & Nelson Phillips, 2006. "Power and organizations," Post-Print hal-02298067, HAL.
    3. Dieter Helm, 2008. "Climate-change policy: why has so little been achieved?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 24(2), pages 211-238, Summer.
    4. Ulrich Brand & Markus Wissen, 2013. "Crisis and continuity of capitalist society-nature relationships: The imperial mode of living and the limits to environmental governance," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 687-711, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Florian Becker-Ritterspach & Christoph Dörrenbächer, 2011. "An Organizational Politics Perspective on Intra-firm Competition in Multinational Corporations," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 533-559, August.
    2. Robert Es & Thomas Pels, 2010. "The Political Dimension: Added Value for Cross-Cultural Analysis. Nozawa and Smits, Two CEOs and Their Public Statements," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(3), pages 319-327, February.
    3. Liu, Antung Anthony, 2012. "Tax Evasion and Optimal Environmental Taxes," RFF Working Paper Series dp-12-37, Resources for the Future.
    4. Anver C. Sadath & Rajesh H. Acharya, 2019. "Economic growth and environmental degradation: How to balance the interests of developed and developing countries," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(2), pages 25-47.
    5. Spash, Clive L., 2014. "Better Growth, Helping the Paris COP-out? Fallacies and Omissions of the New Climate Economy Report," SRE-Discussion Papers 2014/04, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    6. Laurie Field, 2017. "Interest Differences and Organizational Learning," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, August.
    7. Fortwengel, Johann & Gutierrez Huerter O, Gabriela & Kostova, Tatiana, 2023. "Three decades of research on practice transfer in multinational firms: Past contributions and future opportunities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(3).
    8. Asongu, Simplice & Odhiambo, Nicholas, 2020. "The role of Globalization in Modulating the Effect of Environmental Degradation on Inclusive Human Development," MPRA Paper 103143, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Eric M. Anicich & Nathanael J. Fast & Nir Halevy & Adam D. Galinsky, 2016. "When the Bases of Social Hierarchy Collide: Power Without Status Drives Interpersonal Conflict," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(1), pages 123-140, February.
    10. David Simpson, 2013. "The Rediscovery of Classical Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15080.
    11. Enrique A. Mundaca & Mariana Lazzaro-Salazar & Lucas Pujol-Cols & María Teresa Muñoz-Quezada, 2021. "The Emotional and Cognitive Scale of the Human–Nature Relationship (ECS-HNR)," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440211, March.
    12. Franco Ruzzenenti & Andreas A. Papandreou, 2015. "Effects of fossil fuel prices on the transition to a low-carbon economy," Working papers wpaper89, Financialisation, Economy, Society & Sustainable Development (FESSUD) Project.
    13. Silvia Micheli & Carlo Andrea Bollino, 2011. "Sustainable growth with renewable and non-renewable energy sources," EcoMod2011 3213, EcoMod.
    14. Medaglia, Rony & Eaton, Ben & Hedman, Jonas & Whitley, Edgar A., 2022. "Mechanisms of power inscription into IT governance: lessons from two national digital identity systems," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108207, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Chris Carter & Stewart Clegg & Martin Kornberger, 2010. "Re‐framing strategy: power, politics and accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(5), pages 573-594, June.
    16. Stephen Howes, 2012. "Sustaining Growth and Mitigating Climate Change: Are the Costs of Mitigation Underestimated?," Chapters, in: Chin Hee Hahn & Sang-Hyop Lee & Kyoung-Soo Yoon (ed.), Responding to Climate Change, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Kathryn J. Bowen & Sharon Friel & Kristie Ebi & Colin D. Butler & Fiona Miller & Anthony J. McMichael, 2011. "Governing for a Healthy Population: Towards an Understanding of How Decision-Making Will Determine Our Global Health in a Changing Climate," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    18. Victor Meyer Junior & Lucilaine Maria Pascuci & Bernardo Meyer, 2018. "Strategies in Universities: Tensions Between Macro Intentions and Micro Actions," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 22(2), pages 163-177.
    19. David J. Frame & Cameron J. Hepburn, 2011. "Emerging markets and climate change: Mexican standoff or low-carbon race?," GRI Working Papers 46, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    20. Asad Aman, 2019. "Managing Internal Marketing Channel Conflict: A Proposal for Narrative Epistemology," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 20(4), pages 901-916, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Power; Structure; Agency; Climate Change; Hegemony; Structuration theory; Machiavelli; Hobbes; Dahl; Lukes; Gramsci; Giddens; Foucault; Hay; Jessop; Macht; Struktur; Handlung; Klimawandel; Hegemonie; Strukturationstheorie;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:voodps:52017. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.voeoe.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.