Solar masculinities from the south: Patriarchal and ethnoreligious authoritarianism through solar infrastructures in Turkey and India

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic infrastructures are often regarded as the least conflictive and destructive renewable energy systems compared to their fossil fuel counterparts. However, there are many examples globally of injustices occurring through the development and operation of solar megaprojects. We undertake a South-South comparison across two large-scale solar parks to expose expressions of authoritarian desire and the exercise of authoritarian power. Examining the cases of the Kalyon-Karapınar Solar Park (1350 MW) in Turkey and the Dholera Solar Park (5000 MW) in India, we reveal how authoritarian populists like Erdoğan and Modi wield solar megaprojects to consolidate political and energetic power and entrench ethnoreligious and patriarchal social orders. We also illuminate the troubling manifestations of solar masculinities (SM), extensions of petro-masculinities, which exhibit key characteristics—SM1: Restructuring and Reconfiguring; SM2: Discourse and Imaginaries; SM3: Exploitation and Enclosure; SM4: Scale and Speed; SM5: Scapegoating and Subjectification; SM6: Extending and Networking. Large-scale solar socio-spatial formations that shape and shroud authoritarian agendas pose a significant impasse for just energy transitions in Turkey and India. Intercepting and eroding solar masculinities therefore becomes a global imperative to concomitantly generate greener power and cultivate empowerment for populations struggling under authoritarian oppression. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd