Murphy Seminar in Political Science: "Authoritarian Currents: Energy Democracy and the Political Economy of Renewable Energy in Egypt"

Each semester The Murphy Institute sponsors a series of seminars organized by the Tulane Department of Political Science that provides an opportunity for faculty, researchers, and practitioners to present their latest research and pressing issues related to topics in political economy. Research presented covers all aspects of contemporary politics science, including comparative politics, public policy, international relations, American politics, and normative theory.  

As a scholar of politics, Erin Snider conducts research on the international and comparative politics of the Middle East, foreign assistance, the political economy of development, and democratization.

Snider's studies the economic dimensions of the 2011 uprisings in the Arab world—both its antecedents and those aspects now shaping the trajectory of political transitions in that region. Located at the intersection of political economy, international relations, and fiscal sociology, this project will investigate the relationship between uprisings in the region and the economic interests of domestic and international actors.

Questions about the economy and the structure of economic power remain relatively unexplored by scholars in the wake of the uprisings. The economic sphere thus represents a new arena of contestation between emergent political actors in the region and traditional patrons and a rich area in which to consider questions of power, security, and legitimacy emerging from the Arab uprisings.

ABSTRACT:

The transition to renewable energy is often framed as a pathway to democratization and sustainable development. However, in authoritarian contexts such as Egypt, the political economy of renewable energy is shaped by state control, elite interests, and geopolitical dynamics. This paper examines the intersections of energy democracy and authoritarian governance in Egypt’s renewable energy sector, exploring how state policies, foreign investment, and military involvement influence the trajectory of energy transition. Since 2013, scholars have devoted increasing attention towards understanding the politics of economic reform and the reconstitution of authoritarianism in Egypt under President Sisi. This paper deepens that conversation through an analysis of the solar energy sector in Egypt over the last decade. I argue that initiatives to support renewable energy projects like that for solar energy are an important lens through which to understand new forms of contestation between the private sector and the government; They also illuminate tensions behind the government’s desire to alleviate climate-linked development crises and its apprehension towards empowering private sector actors in its efforts. In 2016, the government aggressively promoted solar energy projects through the private sector to offset an energy crisis. That support bolstered solar energy companies, with new actors entering the market. In 2020, the government suddenly shifted its policy, introducing tariffs on renewable energy, effectively debilitating private sector involvement in the solar energy sector. The policy’s initial success in curbing an energy crisis also made it apparent to many that energy independence from the government was possible for anyone with land and sun—a point, many note, that was not lost on the government. To date, little attention has been given to the politics of renewable energy in Egypt and in the Middle East. This paper shows how energy policy has evolved since 2013 and how the government and private sector have adapted drawing on primary source documents on the solar energy industry in Egypt and the Middle East and interviews with policymakers and practitioners engaged in such projects in Egypt. In doing so, this research contributes to the literatures on climate governance and business politics in authoritarian regimes as well as to broader debates on energy justice, authoritarian resilience, and the potential for democratizing energy transitions in non-democratic regimes.

RSVP: https://tulane.campuslabs.com/engage/event/11066581

For more information, contact the Department of Political Science at polisci@tulane.edu.