Contested Powers

The Politics of Energy and Development in Latin America

By: John-Andrew McNeish (Editor), Axel Borchgrevink (Editor), Owen Logan (Editor)

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eBook | 11 June 2015 | Edition Number 1

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In the global North the commoditization of creativity and knowledge under the banner of a creative economy is being posed as the post-industrial answer to dependency on labour and natural resources. Not only does it promise a more stable and sustainable future, but an economy focused on intellectual property is more environmentally friendly, so it is suggested.

Contested Powers argues that the fixes being offered by this model are bluffs; development as witnessed in Latin American energy politics and governance remains hindered by a global division of labour and nature that puts the capacity for technological advancement in private hands. The authors call for a multi-layered understanding of sovereignty, arguing that it holds the key to undermining rigid accounts of the relationship between carbon and democracy, energy and development, and energy and political expression. Furthermore, a critical focus on energy politics is crucial to wider debates on development and sustainability.

Contested Powers is essential reading for those wondering how energy resources are converted into political power and why we still value the energy we take from our surroundings more than the means of its extraction.

Industry Reviews

'Combining penetrating case studies with a theoretically insightful broader analysis of the meanings, contradictions and global significance of recent development processes in Latin America, this landmark collection constructively critiques conventional wisdom while offering fresh ways of understanding the political complexity created by different kinds of claims to sovereignty.'
John Gledhill, University of Manchester, and author of The New War on the Poor

'This collection of case studies from Latin America challenges neoliberal ideology by demonstrating the pivotal role of energy in political struggles within and between nation-states in our unequal world.'
Alf Hornborg, Lund University

'With this irrefutable volume, McNeish, Borchgrevink and Logan have taken us a long way towards the elusive goal of a post-carbon age.'
Arturo Escobar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

'An incisive and theoretically sophisticated set of studies into the highly contentious relationship between energy and development. This is a signal contribution to our understanding of the politics of energy in Latin America.'
Tom Perreault, Syracuse University