Relational Power in the Governance of a South African E-Waste Transition

Abstract

Transition studies attempts to explain sociotechnical change over time and to develop policy prescriptions to help guide transitions towards more sustainable outcomes. While this literature has made significant contributions to our understanding of transitions and achieving greater sustainability, most transition theory and practice overlooks the central role of power in shaping tbe direction and outcomes of transitions. In this paper I apply the transitions framework to electronic waste (e-waste) management in South Africa, and assess the attempts to instigate and guide a transition through the establishment of an industry-led e-waste association. I use a relational-political-ecological approach in which I show how power is built relationally through particular engagements between members of tbe e-waste association and with others outside the association. I describe tbe attempts by the association to extend power and the strategies employed by members to resist or reconstruct tbis relationship. While stakeholders' concerns witb the e-waste association are various, I focus on articulating their responses, specifically actions whieh revise their particular way of relating to tbe association. I group these into three main responses: (i) establishing a new connection or disengaging from the network; (ii) frustrated participation and/or reformed expectations; and (iii) establishing an altemative network. My analysis of relational power in the process of attempting to guide a transition is intended to show a new way of incorporating conceptualizations of power into transition studies to increase its tbeoretieal rigour and enhanee its potential to make positive contributions towards achieving a just sustainability.

Provincializing Urban Political Ecology: Towards a Situated UPE Through African Urbanism

“…Lawhon (; ) also frames power as diffuse and relational in her study of the establishment of new systems of e‐waste management in South Africa. Two associations, both largely dominated by industry, sought to establish separate management systems which will have different outcomes for individual stakeholders, particularly small businesses and the informal sector.…”

“…While Lawhon () provides some understanding of the infrastructure required for the morally controversial flow of alcohol, and Ernstson () suggests a localized and socio‐ecological mode of organizing alternative ways of knowing and gaining access to symbolic and material resources, they provide but limited insight into how these networks operate. And while Lawhon () identifies modes of resistance, these largely served to disrupt change rather than create more progressive changes. Further studies are needed into those everyday modalities through which ordinary people link together to provide for their urban lives and livelihoods and the limitations they face.…”

Sustainability Transitions in the Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems of Bolivian Cities: Evidence from La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra

“…In developing countries the focus has been on the strategic management of emerging niches (e.g., plastics recycling) [37], or waste-to-energy projects [38,39]. Other studies have focused on the role of specific actors (e.g., religious communities, international donors) in fostering sustainability transitions in the sector [40,41], or how power and trust can permeate the dynamics and direction of sustainability transitions in different MSWM streams (e.g., e-waste) [42,43].…”

Material, Political, and Biopolitical Dimensions of “Waste” in California Water Law

“…Geographers have studied a diverse range of topics related to waste, including garbage and urban waste (Moore , ), commodity chains of recycling (Crang et al ; Gregson et al ), e‐waste (Grant and Oteng‐Ababio ; Lawhon ; Lepawsky ), and urban wastelands (Dillon ; Gandy ). Geographical scholarship on waste has focused largely on solid materials (for example, e‐waste and municipal garbage).…”