Call for Abstracts: Special Issue New Agenda 99
New Agenda Special Issue: Living the Transition: Energy Change and Rural Realities in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa
We invite submissions for a special issue exploring the dynamics, challenges, and opportunities of the energy transition in South Africa’s Northern Cape and Karoo regions. As these areas become focal points for renewable energy development, particularly solar, wind, and green hydrogen, this special issue aims to critically engage with the environmental, social, economic, and political implications of the shift to low-carbon energy futures.
Themes may include (but are not limited to):
- Land, Landscape, and Renewable Energy
(Land use change, ecological impacts, and cultural landscapes)
- Community Engagement and Resistance
(Participation, agency, and contestation) - Socio-Economic Impacts and Equity
(Benefit sharing, livelihoods, and local development) - Governance and Policy Gaps
(Planning, regulation, and institutional dynamics) - Just Transition in Rural Contexts
(Local justice narratives, inclusion, and future imaginaries)
- Knowledge, Narrative, and Representation
(Artistic, oral, and indigenous knowledge representations of energy change)
- Energy, Memory, and Historical Trajectories
(Historical energy regimes and Long-term rural marginalisation)
We welcome interdisciplinary contributions from scholars, practitioners, and community researchers working across energy studies, geography, environmental science, political ecology, sociology, social anthropology and related fields.
Abstracts should be 500 words and clearly outline the focus, methodology, and contribution of the proposed paper.
Please also include a short bio (100 words max) with your submission.
Deadline for abstract submission: 2 May 2025
Submit abstracts to: sborchardt@sun.ac.za
Authors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit full papers for peer review. Further details on the timeline and publication will be shared upon acceptance.
Approved articles may be published in subsequent issues of New Agenda, due to space and time constraints.
For any inquiries, please contact Dr Stephanie Borchardt at sborchardt@sun.ac.za
