How power affects climate policy implementation: Conceptual reflections and empirical findings from Southeast Asia
Final Report Abstract
Based on a twelve months long visiting fellowship at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the research project aimed to (1) advance an explicit conceptualization of power in multi-level environmental governance and (2) empirically test hypotheses related to the role of power in climate policy implementation. The overarching goal was to conceptualize and better understand how various dimensions of power in complex governance arrangements affect climate politics. Crossing boundaries between political science and science and technology studies (STS), the project benefitted from critical debates about how we approach themes of power and political struggles in a field that is dominated by natural science, technologies, and market mechanisms. Being at Harvard’s STS program was both a rewarding and challenging experience. Rewarding, because an indepth discussion about power, climate politics, and STS concepts like co-production, situated knowledge or sociotechnical imaginaries helped to rethink and broaden the idea of power related to climate action. At the same time, it was challenging because an intense course led by Prof. Sheila Jasanoff and weekly engagements with peer fellows, reading groups and other events resulted in less time for data collection and analysis. Yet, these reflections helped to situate this research project much better in the broader context of climate science, knowledge production, policy implementation and power. Instead of conducting two in-depth case studies (the Philippines and Indonesia) with planned field research in both countries, the project focused on interviews with Philippine experts and earlier research in the region to develop a Philippine case study. Besides, the United States came into focus due to ongoing debates about the political struggles around climate science. Not surprisingly, the project’s outcome also changed significantly. While an early conceptual article presents the power-based multi-level governance framework as planned, a more empirical paper reflects the power of imagination and future-making when it comes to sustainability transitions in the Philippines and Thailand. Also, a public event about climate science in a time of political disruption was organized, followed by a vignette that explains why we should care about the fate of climate science. Close collaboration with current and earlier STS fellows such as Kamilla Karhunmaa (University of Helsinki) or Dr. Laurence Delina (Boston University) led to these outcomes. Weekly meetings with Prof. Jasanoff, fellows group meetings, retreats, and the exchange with other researchers at Harvard’s Kennedy School and beyond helped to develop a network and collaborative work beyond the time of the fellowship. For example, an edited volume about climate politics in Southeast Asia as well as a special issue on the link between populism and climate governance, were initiated. While the project has witnessed several changes and adjustments over time, this flexibility turned out to be extraordinarily helpful. After finishing the fellowship, I started working in a project on the role of non-state actors in post-Paris climate governance at Stockholm University, where I could further engage with conceptual debates about climate governance and power.
Publications
- 2017, ‘Conceptualizing Power in Multi-level Climate Governance’, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 154, pp. 167–75
Marquardt, J.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.176) - 2018, ‘Reimagine the future: Linking social mobilization to clean energy initiatives in Southeast Asia’, Energy Research and Social Science
Marquardt, J. & Delina, L.L.
