The Political Culture of Wind Power Development in Southern Mexico

Cymene Howe和Dominic Boyer博士（莱斯大学）将研究墨西哥风力发电发展的政治文化。尽管从碳燃料到清洁能源的过渡被广泛认为是人类在21世纪世纪面临的最紧迫的环境和社会挑战之一，但如何实现能源过渡目标仍不清楚，特别是当世界各地的主要经济和社会政策经常质疑政府主导发展的合法性和有效性时。特别是那些已经在努力履行政府义务的国家，拥有实施可再生能源等国家发展重要计划的政治权威。该研究的重点是墨西哥，一个自20世纪80年代初以来深受经济全球化和新自由主义政策影响的国家，最近石油产量大幅下降。为此，墨西哥政府制定了一项雄心勃勃的计划，在未来15年内开发可再生能源。由于南部瓦哈卡州拥有丰富的风力资源，风力发电是该计划的核心。 Howe和Boyer博士将于2012年和2013年在墨西哥完成为期16个月的实地研究，包括访谈、参与者观察、焦点小组、档案研究和两次社区调查。该项目的研究假设集中在风力发电发展的四个主要利益相关者之间的相互作用-州和联邦政府官员，瓦哈卡社区，跨国能源公司和媒体组织。本研究的主要目的是（1）绘制这些利益相关者之间的相互作用，（2）确定他们之间的竞争，合作和经纪情况，以及（3）确定政治权威的主张和关系，以确定最终推动风力发电发展过程的利益和考虑因素。 这项研究将产生关于墨西哥可再生能源发展的政治文化和进程的独特丰富的人种学数据，这些数据将为国际上试图向可再生能源过渡的科学研究和政策辩论提供信息。

Drs. Cymene Howe and Dominic Boyer (Rice University) will study the political culture of wind power development in Mexico. Although the transition from carbon fuels to cleaner energy is widely regarded as one of the most pressing environmental and social challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, it remains unclear how energy transition goals can be achieved, especially when dominant economic and social policies across the world often question the legitimacy and effectiveness of government-led development.This project's central research question is whether contemporary states, especially those already struggling to meet their governmental obligations, possess the political authority to implement important programs of national development such as renewable energy. The research focuses on Mexico, a country that has been deeply impacted by economic globalization and neoliberal policy since the early 1980s, and that has experienced significant recent declines in oil production. In response, the Mexican government has outlined an ambitious plan to develop renewable energy resources over the next 15 years. Wind power is a centerpiece of this plan owing to excellent wind resources in the southern state of Oaxaca. Drs. Howe and Boyer will complete 16 months of field research in Mexico in 2012 and 2013 using interviews, participant-observation, focus groups, archival research and two community surveys. The project's research hypotheses focus on the interactions between four major stakeholders in wind power development - state and federal government officials, Oaxacan communities, transnational energy corporations, and media organizations. The primary objectives of the study are (1) to map the interactions between these stakeholders, (2) to identify instances of contention, cooperation and brokerage among them, and (3) to identify assertions and relations of political authority in order to determine what set of interests and considerations are ultimately driving the process of wind power development. The study will generate uniquely rich ethnographic data on the political culture and processes of renewable energy development in Mexico that will inform scientific research and policy debates on attempts to transition to renewable energy internationally.