Reimagining Capitalism

Julie MacArthur was awarded funds from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to create a framework to understand the structure and impact of Canadian energy democratization.

As nations around the world struggle to meet their climate targets in a context of rising civil disobedience, new actors and mechanisms of energy governance are essential. Grounded in critical political economy and energy transitions scholarship, the proposed research examines the transformative potential of energy democracy in Canada. It assesses the nature, diversity, and impact of social and solidarity initiatives in a comparative context, focusing on questions of structure, power and ideas. The research will result in a public database of Canadian energy democracy projects, comparative research on actors and strategies involved, and a new framework for theorizing their impact.