Tia Renata Levi
PhD, 2025
mihtavletia@gmail.com
Ordering change: the dynamics of energy transition and capitalist power
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How do powerful economic actors shape the course of energy transitions? In her Ph.D. research at the Society, Space and Planning Lab, Dr. Tia Renata Levi examined one of the central challenges of our time: the transition toward more sustainable energy systems. Rather than focusing solely on technology or environmental policy, her work explored how business power influences the direction, pace, and outcomes of socio-technical change under capitalism.
Tia developed an innovative analytical framework that links energy systems, technological transitions, and processes of capital accumulation. Combining quantitative analysis of economic power relations with qualitative research, she investigated two major historical transformations: the rise of fossil-fuel capitalism in nineteenth-century Britain and Germany’s contemporary Energiewende (energy transition) program. Through these contrasting case studies, she sought to understand why some energy transitions lead to profound structural change while others become stalled or redirected.
A central contribution of the dissertation is the argument that successful energy transitions are shaped not only by technological innovation or increases in energy efficiency, but also by the ability of dominant actors to control the transition process itself. Her findings demonstrate how business organizations can influence emerging energy regimes, secure strategic advantages, and shape patterns of economic development during periods of technological change.
By bringing together perspectives from political economy, energy studies, economic geography, and socio-technical transition research, Tia’s work offers a novel understanding of the relationship between power, space, and sustainability. Her research contributes to ongoing debates about the political and economic forces that drive—or constrain—the transition toward low-carbon futures.
Tia developed an innovative analytical framework that links energy systems, technological transitions, and processes of capital accumulation. Combining quantitative analysis of economic power relations with qualitative research, she investigated two major historical transformations: the rise of fossil-fuel capitalism in nineteenth-century Britain and Germany’s contemporary Energiewende (energy transition) program. Through these contrasting case studies, she sought to understand why some energy transitions lead to profound structural change while others become stalled or redirected.
A central contribution of the dissertation is the argument that successful energy transitions are shaped not only by technological innovation or increases in energy efficiency, but also by the ability of dominant actors to control the transition process itself. Her findings demonstrate how business organizations can influence emerging energy regimes, secure strategic advantages, and shape patterns of economic development during periods of technological change.
By bringing together perspectives from political economy, energy studies, economic geography, and socio-technical transition research, Tia’s work offers a novel understanding of the relationship between power, space, and sustainability. Her research contributes to ongoing debates about the political and economic forces that drive—or constrain—the transition toward low-carbon futures.