sh.sePublications
Change search
Link to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Publications (10 of 18) Show all publications
Tarasova, E. & Rohracher, H. (2023). Marginalising household users in smart grids. Technology in society, 72, Article ID 102185.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Marginalising household users in smart grids
2023 (English)In: Technology in society, ISSN 0160-791X, E-ISSN 1879-3274, Vol. 72, article id 102185Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Unless just and inclusive, transitions to low carbon-energy systems are unlikely to receive sufficient legitimacy and broad public support. While research on inequalities and injustices in energy transitions is growing, these issues remain less explored in the case of the digitalisation of the energy systems through smart grids and smart homes. This paper aims to synthetise our understandings of inequality, exclusion and vulnerability in energy transitions by systemically analysing different dimensions of marginalisation in the transition to a digitalised electricity infrastructure in Sweden. To synthetise understandings of marginalisation and exclusion, conceptualisations of these processes in different social science approaches to energy studies are reviewed. Moreover, an empirical analysis of interviews with a range of Swedish actors such as energy utilities, social housing developers or pensioner organisations is carried out and enriched by previous research on smart grid users. The empirical analysis demonstrates what specific forms that diverse categories of marginalisation, as already identified generally in different social science approaches to energy studies, may take in smart grids. We argue that marginalisation of household users in smart grids may take place along multiple dimensions, relating to matters of literacy, participation, infrastructure, and the economy. The analysis suggests that bundles of marginalisation aspects concerning household users in sustainable energy transitions should be recognised and addressed simultaneously. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2023
Keywords
Exclusion, Marginalisation, Smart grid, Sweden, Vulnerable consumers, Automation, Behavioral research, Intelligent buildings, Empirical analysis, Energy studies, Energy transitions, Low-carbon energy systems, Marginalization, Public support, Vulnerable consumer, Smart power grids, alternative energy, household energy, infrastructure, social exclusion
National Category
Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-50714 (URN)10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102185 (DOI)000918882600001 ()2-s2.0-85145779697 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency, 44341–1
Available from: 2023-01-23 Created: 2023-01-23 Last updated: 2023-02-27Bibliographically approved
Tarasova, E. & Wallsten, A. (2023). Stakeholder perspectives on neglected and vulnerable households in smart grids. Environmental Sociology, 9(3), 257-268
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Stakeholder perspectives on neglected and vulnerable households in smart grids
2023 (English)In: Environmental Sociology, ISSN 2325-1042, Vol. 9, no 3, p. 257-268Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Smart grid development is an area where the discussion about who can be negatively affected by low-carbon energy transitions has progressed. The research on vulnerable households in smart grids often focuses on how potentially vulnerable groups react to smart energy technologies. This paper contributes to the literature by highlighting how a broad range of actors in society think about neglected and vulnerable households in smart grids. The research question concerns how stakeholders frame potential inequalities, differentiations, and vulnerabilities in smart grids in Sweden. The frame analysis is carried out, building on interviews with national and local public authorities dealing with energy issues and consumer advice, actors involved in developing, testing, and using smart energy technologies as well as interest organizations representing diverse social groups. Three narratives are identified that frame potentially neglected households as consumers without economic benefits; as users without technological interests, competences, and access to technologies; and as households with intersecting vulnerabilities. It is argued that, since there could be different interpretations of inequalities in smart grids, the governance of smart grids, and specifically discussions of neglected/vulnerable households in smart grids, can benefit from the involvement of a broad coalition of actors. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2023
Keywords
digitalization, inequalities, Smart grids, vulnerability, vulnerable households
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Environmental Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-51426 (URN)10.1080/23251042.2023.2202452 (DOI)000970998100001 ()2-s2.0-85153520879 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency, 44341-1
Note

Finansierat av Göteborg Energi Research Foundation.

Available from: 2023-05-08 Created: 2023-05-08 Last updated: 2023-06-13Bibliographically approved
Tarasova, E. & Rohracher, H. (2022). Democratizing energy through smart grids?: Discourses of empowerment vs practices of marginalization. In: Majia Nadesan; Martin Pasqualetti; Jennifer Keahey (Ed.), Energy Democracies for Sustainable futures: (pp. 311-316). Lodon: Academic Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Democratizing energy through smart grids?: Discourses of empowerment vs practices of marginalization
2022 (English)In: Energy Democracies for Sustainable futures / [ed] Majia Nadesan; Martin Pasqualetti; Jennifer Keahey, Lodon: Academic Press, 2022, p. 311-316Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The empowerment of users, their active role in managing electricity use or as micro-producers, and the potential for self-sufficient local energy communities play an important role in the legitimization of smart grids and are highlighted in many policy documents. However, the extent to which energy system configurations associated with smart grids actually empower users and are socially inclusive is an open question. In this chapter, we briefly discuss the social inclusivity of smart grid roll-out in Sweden as an element of a democratic energy system and focus on how the interests and needs of some users may be disregarded and even “designed out” in the implementation process of smart grids.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lodon: Academic Press, 2022
Keywords
Active users, Empowerment, Marginalization, Smart grid, Social inclusion
National Category
Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-50395 (URN)10.1016/B978-0-12-822796-1.00033-4 (DOI)2-s2.0-85143110647 (Scopus ID)9780128227961 (ISBN)9780128227978 (ISBN)
Available from: 2022-12-16 Created: 2022-12-16 Last updated: 2022-12-16Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O. & Tarasova, E. (2021). “Now We Are Struggling at Least”: Change & Continuity of Surveillance in Post-Communist Societies from the Perspective of Data Protection Authorities. Surveillance & Society, 19(1), 53-68
Open this publication in new window or tab >>“Now We Are Struggling at Least”: Change & Continuity of Surveillance in Post-Communist Societies from the Perspective of Data Protection Authorities
2021 (English)In: Surveillance & Society, E-ISSN 1477-7487, Vol. 19, no 1, p. 53-68Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article presents the results of an interview study carried out with sixteen data-protection authorities in Central and Eastern Europe. The study focuses on the way that data protection authorities reason about the past. The theoretical argument advanced in the text is that data protection in a post-communist context bears a specific historical significance due to the recent experiences with the extensive, coercive state surveillance that was systematized under the communist regimes. The article focuses on the institutional role conceptions of data protection authorities-a theoretical concept that denotes perceptions of the role of an organization within the larger institutional environment. High-level officials from data protection authorities in sixteen countries were interviewed about change and continuity in surveillance. The results show that historical reflectivity is not a dominant feature of the leadership of contemporary data protection authorities and that different countries differ considerably. The respondents least able or willing to discuss the topics of change and continuity are in societies with recent high-level surveillance scandals, such as Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
SURVEILLANCE STUDIES NETWORK, 2021
Keywords
Data Protection, State Surveillance, Communism, Change, Data-Protection Authorities, Regulation
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-48431 (URN)10.24908/ss.v19i1.13477 (DOI)000653774700005 ()2-s2.0-85102989006 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-02-18 Created: 2022-02-18 Last updated: 2024-02-15Bibliographically approved
Tarasova, E. (2019). Attitudes, Poverty and Agency in Russia and Ukraine [Review]. Nordisk Østforum, 33(0), 1-2
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Attitudes, Poverty and Agency in Russia and Ukraine
2019 (Swedish)In: Nordisk Østforum, ISSN 0801-7220, E-ISSN 1891-1773, Vol. 33, no 0, p. 1-2Article, book review (Other academic) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Nordic Open Access Scholarly Publishing (NOASP), 2019
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Baltic and East European studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-52741 (URN)10.23865/noros.v33.1376 (DOI)
Note

Recension av Ann-Mari Sätre och Ildikó Asztalos Morell (red.) (2016). Attitudes, Poverty and Agency in Russia and Ukraine. Oxfordshire: Routledge. ISBN 9781138957640

Available from: 2023-11-20 Created: 2023-11-20 Last updated: 2023-11-20Bibliographically approved
Tarasova, E. (2018). (Non-) Alternative energy transitions: Examining neoliberal rationality in official nuclear energy discourses of Russia and Poland. Energy Research & Social Science, 41, 128-135
Open this publication in new window or tab >>(Non-) Alternative energy transitions: Examining neoliberal rationality in official nuclear energy discourses of Russia and Poland
2018 (English)In: Energy Research & Social Science, ISSN 2214-6296, E-ISSN 2214-6326, Vol. 41, p. 128-135Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Abstract Neoliberal trends are a part of the sociopolitical contexts that shape present-day energy transitions. Economic arguments extensively used in nuclear energy discourses regarding the Nuclear Renaissance period may indicate that neoliberal trends have penetrated discussions about energy transitions. This article examines the presence of neoliberal rationality in the official nuclear energy discourses coming from Russia and Poland. These countries are interesting in respect to their relatively recent changes towards a market economy. Neoliberal rationality is defined in the article as the combination of market rationality, limited role of state, political consensus, governance structures and securitization, following Foucault and Brown. Discourse analysis of the energy policies and speeches of politicians that contain statements about nuclear energy development is carried out. The analysis confirms the significant presence of these themes in nuclear energy discourses as well as discourses reflecting the specificities of the two countries. The combination of the defining features of neoliberal rationality in official nuclear energy discourses seem to leave limited space for challenging nuclear energy development and discussing alternative energy transitions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2018
Keywords
Energy transition, Nuclear energy, Neoliberalism, Market rationality
National Category
Political Science Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Baltic and East European studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-34911 (URN)10.1016/j.erss.2018.04.008 (DOI)000435003500014 ()2-s2.0-85046156997 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies
Available from: 2018-04-27 Created: 2018-04-27 Last updated: 2022-02-18Bibliographically approved
Tarasova, E. (2017). Anti-nuclear Movements in Discursive and Political Contexts​: Between Expert Voices and Local Protests. (Doctoral dissertation). Huddinge: Södertörns högskola
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Anti-nuclear Movements in Discursive and Political Contexts​: Between Expert Voices and Local Protests
2017 (English)Doctoral thesis, monograph (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Energy policies which maintain and extend nuclear energy are often opposed by anti-nuclear movements. Ambitious plans for developing nuclear energy in Russia, constructing a first nuclear plant in Poland, and lifting the ban on nuclear energy while allowing the replacement of old reactors in Sweden are examples of such energy policies. In contrast to the massive anti-nuclear movements of 1970-1990s, recent anti-nuclear movements are not organized as national protest campaigns. This thesis examines repertoires of anti-nuclear movements in the alleged “Nuclear Renaissance” period.  

Repertoires of anti-nuclear actions are analyzed from the perspective of discursive and political opportunities of anti-nuclear movements. Discursive opportunities are enabled or hindered in the ordering of nuclear energy discourses, making messages and actions of social movements legitimate or illegitimate. While discourses of anti-nuclear movements are complex, official discourses of nuclear energy featuring arguments about profitability, energy security and environmental security in connection to nuclear energy development, resonate more with broader socio-political developments. Ordering of discourses is established in such a way that expert rhetoric becomes a standard approach for discussing nuclear energy, while references to emotions and subjective matters are unacceptable.

Political contexts of anti-nuclear movements provide opportunities for environmental NGOs, one kind of actor in anti-nuclear movements, to pursue nonconfrontational strategies and engage in institutional channels, where they can contribute their expert knowledge. Concurrently, another actor in anti-nuclear movements, local anti-nuclear groups, on the one hand, share argumentative structures with environmental NGOs, and, on the other hand, attempt to mobilize local population and organize local protests. Due to limited opportunities for attention from the national media and focus on local issues, local protests are not featured in the national media, which is crucial for national protest actions.

The differences in repertoires between these two kinds of actors and absence of actors opting for mass engagement provide insight into repertoires of anti-nuclear movements as a whole. This thesis demonstrates how discursive opportunities of social movements, which result from competing discourses of movements and their counter-agents, and political opportunities structure repertoires of actions of these movements.

Abstract [sv]

Energipolitik som upprätthåller och utökar användandet av kärnkraft motarbetas ofta av antikärnkrafts­rörelser. Exempel på sådan energipolitik är de ambitiösa planerna på att utveckla kärnkraft i Ryssland, att bygga ett första kärnkraftverk i Polen, och att häva förbudet mot kärnkraft samt möjliggöra utbyte av gamla reaktorer i Sverige. I motsats till de massiva antikärnkraftsrörelserna under 1970-1990, är de nya rörelserna inte organiserade som nationella protestkampanjer. Denna avhandling undersöker vilka olika handlingssätt antikärnkrafts­rörelserna i den påstådda "Nuclear Renaissance"-perioden använder.

Antikärnkraftsrörelsernas olika sätt att agera analyseras ur diskursiva och politiska möjligheter. Diskurser av antikärnkraftsrörelser är komplexa, när officiella diskurser om kärnkraft möter argument om lönsamhet, energisäkerhet och miljösäkerhet i samband med kärnkraft utveckling, anknyter den mer till en bredare socio-politiska utveckling. Diskurser etableras på ett sådant sätt att expertretorik blir en standardiserad metod för att diskutera kärnkraft, medan hänvisningar till känslor och subjektiva frågor är oacceptabla.

Det politiska sammanhanget ger möjligheter till miljöorganisationer, en typ av aktör inom anti­kärnkrafts­rörelsen, att bedriva nonconfrontational strategier och engagera sig via institutionella kanaler, där de kan bidra med sin sakkunskap. Samtidigt som en annan aktör, lokal antikärnkrafts­grupper, å ena sidan dela argument med miljöorganisationer, men å andra sidan försök att mobilisera lokalbefolkningen och anordna lokala protester. Eftersom lokala protester inte visas i nationella medier får de begränsade möjligheter till medial uppmärksamhet, något som är avgörande för nationella protestaktioner. Skillnaderna i sätt att agera mellan dessa två typer av aktörer och frånvaro av aktörer som väljer massengagemang ger insikt i de olika handlingssätt som används av antikärnkraftsrörelser som helhet.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Huddinge: Södertörns högskola, 2017. p. 305
Series
Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations, ISSN 1652-7399 ; 131
Keywords
social movements, nuclear energy, discourse, action repertoires, protests, Nuclear Renaissance, Russia, Poland, Sweden
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Politics, Economy and the Organization of Society; Baltic and East European studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-31979 (URN)978-91-87843-81-5 (ISBN)978-91-87843-82-2 (ISBN)
Public defence
2017-03-10, MB503, Alfred Nobels allé 7, Huddinge, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies
Available from: 2017-02-16 Created: 2017-02-08 Last updated: 2023-03-31Bibliographically approved
Tarasova, E. (2017). Data Protection Authorities in Central and Eastern Europe: Setting the Research Agenda. In: Jonason, Patricia & Rosengren, Anna (Ed.), The Right of Access to Information and the Right to Privacy: A Democratic Balancing Act (pp. 139-149). Huddinge: Södertörns högskola
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Data Protection Authorities in Central and Eastern Europe: Setting the Research Agenda
2017 (English)In: The Right of Access to Information and the Right to Privacy: A Democratic Balancing Act / [ed] Jonason, Patricia & Rosengren, Anna, Huddinge: Södertörns högskola, 2017, p. 139-149Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Huddinge: Södertörns högskola, 2017
Series
Working Paper, ISSN 1404-1480 ; 2017:2
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Baltic and East European studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-33971 (URN)978-91-88663-30-6 (ISBN)
Available from: 2017-12-22 Created: 2017-12-22 Last updated: 2022-02-18Bibliographically approved
Tarasova, E. (2017). Integration in Energy and Transport. Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey [Review]. Europe-Asia Studies, 69(10), 1662-1663
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Integration in Energy and Transport. Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey
2017 (English)In: Europe-Asia Studies, ISSN 0966-8136, E-ISSN 1465-3427, Vol. 69, no 10, p. 1662-1663Article, book review (Other academic) Published
National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-34571 (URN)10.1080/09668136.2017.1401808 (DOI)000423279400007 ()
Available from: 2018-02-09 Created: 2018-02-09 Last updated: 2022-02-18Bibliographically approved
Edberg, K. & Tarasova, E. (2016). Phasing out or phasing in: Framing the role of nuclear power in the Swedish energy transition. Energy Research & Social Science, 13, 170-179
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Phasing out or phasing in: Framing the role of nuclear power in the Swedish energy transition
2016 (English)In: Energy Research & Social Science, ISSN 2214-6296, E-ISSN 2214-6326, Vol. 13, p. 170-179Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article examines how members of the Swedish Parliament framed nuclear energy in the 2010 debate on the future of nuclear power in Sweden in order to understand how politicians construct and contextualize their views on the role of nuclear energy in energy transitions. Our findings suggest that four themes could be identified in the debate and that these were formative for politicians in framing nuclear energy. Even though all political actors anticipate an energy transition towards a more sustainable system, different paths to advancing in this process were brought up in the debate, both with and without prolongation of the nuclear energy program. Our analysis suggests that framings of nuclear energy are closely related to the political ideologies of the parties in the Parliament because the two framings of nuclear energy correspond with the division of the Swedish Parliament into two political blocs. However, views on nuclear energy are not inherent to political ideologies but are constructed. This article thus integrates the politics of nuclear energy within the research on energy transitions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2016
Keywords
Nuclear energy policy; Energy transitions; Political ideologies; Sustainable development; Sweden
National Category
Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology) Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies) Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-29563 (URN)10.1016/j.erss.2015.12.008 (DOI)000379433700016 ()2-s2.0-84957434303 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2016-02-19 Created: 2016-02-19 Last updated: 2022-02-18Bibliographically approved
Projects
Just energy transitions for whom? Exploring the concept of recognition-based justice in the case of the coal phase-out in Poland [21-PD2-0004_OS]; Södertörn University
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-3095-0790

Search in DiVA

Show all publications