The first book of its kind to offer a new materialist framework for the study of power
Show more
Provides a new framework for the study of power
Presents debates surrounding the Anthropocene and politics
Includes case studies on climate change and power
Explores avenues for expanding democracy
Of interest to those interested in climate change, citizen participation, power, knowledge, and the future of democracy
Power in the Anthropocene offers a unique approach to the study of power in a time of multiple ecological crises. Drawing on insights from Jane Bennett, Donna Haraway, Bruno Latour, and others, the book introduces a new materialist framework and opens up innovative avenues for expanding democracy and political mobilization. The book is the first of its kind to link the study of power to debates about the Anthropocene, and it outlines a new agenda for interdisciplinary research that combines insights from both the natural sciences and the social sciences, including ecofeminism, sustainability science, indigenous studies, and environmental political theory.
Chapter 1: Power in the Anthropocene Chapter 2: The sociality of power Chapter 3: The materiality of power Chapter 4: The methods of power Chapter 5: The organization of power Chapter 6: Power and criticism in the Anthropocene
Responding to this age of extraordinary human impact on planetary systems, Lars Tønder offers a brilliant blend of new materialism, climate politics, and engaged analyses of power in an attempt to reset the social sciences for the challenge. Power in the Anthropocene is a great critique of the breadth of the ecological blindness of social science, but also a genuinely reconstructive response to the current age of climate turbulence.
Tønder’s work is a rich source for engaging with questions around key political issues in the Anthropocene [...] Thinking with Tønder, one can appreciate the possibilities and challenges that come with the task of undoing our dominant ways of thinking. This is a form of mental and affective exercise that someone who shares many concerns with new materialists welcomes and treasures.
Lars Tønder is Professor of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He is the author of Tolerance: A Sensorial Orientation to Politics (Oxford University Press, 2013) and co-editor of Radical Democracy: Politics Between Abundance and Lack (Manchester University Press, 2005). His current research interests include climate change, democratic theory, social movements and political contestation.
