Power (social and political) | EPFL Graph Search

In social science and politics, power is the social production of an effect that determines the capacities, actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another, but may also be exerted through diffuse means (such as institutions). Power may also take structural forms, as it orders actors in relation to one another (such as distinguishing between a master and an enslaved person, a householder and their relatives, an employer and their employees, a parent and a child, a political representative and their voters...), and discursive forms, as categories and language may lend legitimacy to some behaviors and groups over others. The term authority is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate or socially approved by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust; however, power can also be seen as good and as something inherited or given for exer

The political economy of climate policy

Alexandra Quandt

Implementation of policies and measures is an important feature of effective climate policy design. In the political decision process, implementation depends to some extent on interest group influence. This project deals with business interest groups influencing climate policy making in Switzerland and the European Union. The public choice literature provides multiple reasons for organizations to become active as ‘institutional entrepreneurs’ (1). Firms may develop non-market strategies in order to dilute or postpone stringent legislation, or penalize competitors, e.g. by lobbying for ambitious technology standards. Voluntary approaches have become known as possible strategy for pre-emptive behaviour (2). In Switzerland, one famous example is the implementation of the climate cent in 2005, replacing the CO2 tax on transport fuels until present (3). The first part of the analysis deals with the positions of firms on climate policy. Document analysis of the consultation on the Swiss CO2 law in 2009 shows a pluralist landscape of industry positions. We find that the business community is no solid block opposing climate legislation but a broad field of firms with multiple positions on climate policy, including opponents and proponents. Economic sectors opposing climate legislation are oil and refineries, the heavy industries, and road transport. Proponents of climate policy are renewable energies, forestry and timber production, finance and insurance, building services and manufacturing, and Swiss retailers. Peak business associations and road transport associations tend to overestimate the costs of climate policies and measures for their businesses, whereas firms that are not owned by shareholders tend to show more environmental responsibility. The second part of the analysis compares the arguments provided in the consultation documents with the parliamentary discourse in Switzerland. We assess the degree of interest group representation as proxy for political power of business actors in political decision making. It turns out that peak industry associations, the oil industry, and road transport associations seem to have considerable influence on Swiss climate policy making. Finally, a case study on the voluntary agreement, signed by the Swiss car importers and the Swiss Federal Council in 2002, illustrates our theoretical propositions on non-market strategies in climate policy for Swiss road transport. The findings are likewise reflected in the case of the voluntary agreement signed by the association of European car manufacturers in 1998.

2010

Business interest in Swiss climate policy

Alexandra Quandt

Successful implementation of policies and measures is key for effective climate legislation. In the political decision process, implementation depends to some extent on interest group influence. This project deals with the questions of why, how and what business interest groups lobby climate policy making in Switzerland and in the European Union. The public choice literature provides multiple reasons for organizations to become active as ‘institutional entrepreneurs’, based on rational behaviour. Firms may develop non-market strategies in order to dilute or postpone stringent legislation; or penalize competitors, e.g. by lobbying for ambitious technology standards. Voluntary approaches have become known as possible strategy for pre-emptive behaviour. One famous example, for Switzerland for instance, is the implementation of the climate cent in 2005, which successfully replaces the CO2 tax on transport fuels until present. The qualitative analysis deals with the positions of firms on climate policy. Document analysis of the consultation on the Swiss CO2 law in 2009 shows a pluralist picture of industry positions. We find that the business community is no solid block opposing climate legislation but a broad field of multiple positions including opponents and proponents to climate legislation. Economic sectors opposing climate legislation are oil and refineries, the heavy industries and road transport associations. Proponents of climate policy are renewable energies, forestry and timber production, finance and insurance, building services and manufacturing, and Swiss retailers. Peak business associations and road transport associations tend to overestimate the costs of climate policies and measures for their businesses. In the case of peak industry associations, this raises the question of appropriate representation of present and future members. Firms that are not owned by shareholders tend to show more environmental responsibility. The second part of the analysis compares the arguments provided in the consultation documents with the parliamentary discourse in Switzerland. We assess the degree of interest group representation as proxy for political power of business actors in political decision making. It turns out that peak industry associations, the Oil Union and road transport associations seem to have considerable influence on Swiss climate policy making. The results are combined with a social network analysis of the Swiss Parliament.

2010

Altitude: architecture et environnement de haute montagne

Estelle Lépine

At the centre of the research is the preservation of the countryside which is highlighted and studied through an architectural approach which focuses on cabins in the high mountains. The projects must reflect upon territorial, global and sustainable aspects in order to counteract anthropic pressure occurring in the Alps due to the âdemocratisationâ of alpinism and touristic exploitation, which give rise to inadequate human behaviour in their surroundings. Restoring part of the alpine heritage is underway. It requires complex reflection on the development of building in high mountain areas (size, shape, level of comfortâŠ) and, more generally, on the relationship between mountaineers and the mountains. This investigation, concentrating on cabins in high mountain areas in Switzerland, has as its objective to demonstrate the potential of architecture to provide answers to the paradoxical search for balance between development and the protection of the mountain territory. Three hypotheses of research are put forward. The first is that the ubiquitous landscape must play a constitutive role in the mountain refuge project. The second is that a territorial reflection on the area must restore the feeling of ascent in the design of the cabins, especially through risk assessment. Finally, the contextualising of the constructions must go back to the basic use of a cabin (shelter, rest and protection) while favouring a level of comfort that is adapted to the surroundings, which is currently a sign of displaced city life. This study is focused on two scales of analysis, which represent the structure of this work: landscape and construction. They provide the opportunity to develop graphic representations, which are specific to the architect, that are adapted to the defined needs of this research. The graphic production of the territorial study provides the opportunity to abstract the altimetry of the Swiss territory and to give a differentiated reading of alpine geography and the impact of construction on the mountain tops. It is also a means by which to demonstrate that walking is a tool for understanding the surroundings and these findings must be included in architectural projects so that they fit in with the landscape. Contextualisation is compounded by the introduction of architectural choices in the intrinsic character of âhigh risk environmentsâ in the mountains. The constraint of risks becomes a design tool for a better assessment of the area by avoiding any strengthening of the idea of human supremacy in alpinists. Architectural study, historic and morphological evolution, shows the existence of a certain type whose marginalisation cannot negate its constructive interest, theoretical and analytically generalisable to the architecture of plains. The simplicity of the solutions hides a spatial and structural experimental rationalisation, which responds to the constraints of the area. The tendency towards uniformity in indoor spaces is questioned so as to find a phenomenological design that offers comfort that is adapted to the place, with the aim of making its users conscious of their surroundings. This contextualisation, which is territorial, architectural and spatial, helps in defining the type of cabin for the high mountains and gives rise to a study of a particular territory in order to influence human behaviour. This research asserts that architecture contributes to the development and protection of the high mountains in a way that is both global and reasonable.

EPFL2016