Energy Poverty and the Welfare Crisis in Western Europe in the 1970s to 1980s

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Melanie Arndt
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 554680219

Under the impact of two energy crises in 1973/74 and 1979, respectively, and a deep recession, a new public awareness of the social costs of energy consumption emerged in the 1970s and 1980s: the massive, albeit temporary, increase in energy prices left an increasing number of households in Western Europe unable to afford the energy they needed to satisfy their (basic) needs (heat, light, etc.). Driven by civil society, political, scientific and economic actors in Great Britain and later in other European contexts, the term "fuel poverty" was established for this phenomenon during the same period. Using the examples of Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany, the research project examines the complex relationship between the emergence of "fuel poverty" and the crisis of welfare in Western Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. To this end, the project analytically brings together the micro-level of the everyday lives of households affected by "energy poverty" with the macro-level of society: On the one hand, it examines the everyday experiences, practices, and perceptions of those affected by "energy poverty" in dealing with it, and on the other hand, it asks about its overarching significance for the society as a whole in Western Europe "after the boom" (Doering-Manteuffel/Raphael). With its thematic as well as conceptual orientation, the project contributes significantly to expanding the energy history of the 1970s and 1980s, which is strongly influenced by political and economic historical approaches, by a necessary everyday and social historical perspective.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Canada, France, United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Yves Bouvier; Professorin Dr. Petra Dolata; Professor Dr. Frank Trentmann