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Short abstract:

Applying recognition in energy contexts raises new questions and dilemmas of justice. This paper explores four dangers of recognition for energy justice. Critical reflection on struggles for recognition is important, as they can be emancipatory, or they can hinder energy justice.

Long abstract:

Energy justice scholars apply concepts of justice to energy infrastructure, policies, and technologies. Most scholars adopt a tenet framework that distinguishes different categories of justice, including the notion of recognition justice. Energy justice scholars generally share the assumption that recognition is just and that misrecognition should be battled. However, applying recognition in energy contexts raises new questions and dilemmas of justice that mirror recent critiques of Fraser’s and Honneth’s conceptions of recognition. Many authors claim that seeking and granting recognition is not necessarily morally good, but that recognition is either inherently ambivalent or dangerous, or that recognition can be morally undesirable. This discussion takes place in critical theory and it has not yet reached the field of energy justice. In other words, recognition might have a dark side that is not yet accounted for. This paper explores the dangers of recognition for energy justice. Four dangers of recognition are identified: (1) recognition can reproduce unjust norms; (2) recognition can fix identities and cause polarization; (3) recognition can be dominating; and (4) recognition can distort what is actually at stake. The relevance of each danger for energy justice is illustrated through examples in empirical studies in energy contexts. In conclusion, I argue that recognition should not be seen as solely a positive phenomenon. It is important to critically reflect on struggles for recognition, as they can be emancipatory, or they can hinder energy justice.