Call for papers: British International Studies Association 40th Anniversary Conference, London, 16-19th June 2015
The Place of Technology in Environmental Politics
Organiser: Michael Keary, Aberystwyth University
Technology has an uneasy place in environmental politics. Technological optimism/pessimism dominated its early debates. Many of its classic texts, like Carson’s Silent Spring, are critiques of technologies. Green social movements often crystallised around opposition to developments like nuclear power. It may, however, be time for a reappraisal of where technology stands in the discipline. Ecological modernisation, especially its more radical strands, has won many adherents. Renewable technologies, championed early by green activists and scholars, are now a big part of mainstream energy policy. Information technology, often promising “eco-friendly solutions”, has proliferated. Yet opposition to innovations like “fracking” and underground coal gasification has been staunch. Much recent scholarship retains the early scepticism of “technical fixes”, of the mechanical or institutional variety.
The aim of this panel is to review recent scholarship and get a sense of where technology stands in environmental politics today. It is interested in papers that review theoretical changes, that advocate new perspectives in the sub-discipline, or that identify continuity or change in political or social attitudes. The subject matter is intrinsically interdisciplinary, so papers from across the social sciences are enthusiastically sought.
Possible topics include:
- Specific technologies in their local, state, or international politics
- How technology is theorised
- Technocratic or regulative approaches to environmental problems
- Modelling, scenarios and planning technology
- Technology and environmental social movements
- The global renewable-technology industry
If you are interested in submitting a paper, please email Michael Keary at mkk06@aber.ac.uk