Space and energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa: Understated historical connections

• Published in: Energy research & social science 2018-02, Vol.36, p.30-35
• Main Author: Baptista, Idalina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Energy geographies; History; Path-dependency; Space; Sub-Saharan Africa
• ISSN: 2214-6296; 2214-6326
• DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2017.09.029

•Energy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa miss historical and spatial dimensions.•Article proposes adding historical dimension to spatial analysis of energy systems.•Theorization of energy transitions benefits from insights from sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa is seeing an influx of international interest and investment in energy projects designed to address the energy poverty and climate agendas. Often missing from these energy initiatives is an acknowledgement that bringing about energy transitions will require more than just the creation of efficient energy markets and technological leapfrogging. This article explores how we may begin to add an historical dimension to the spatial analysis of contemporary energy systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on the seminal article by Bridge et al. (2013) on the spatial dimensions of energy transitions, on energy geographies literature and on various strands of social science research on Africa, the article examines the usefulness of a historical and spatial perspective to researching how energy systems in sub-Saharan Africa came to be the way they are today. This historical and spatial understanding of energy systems is necessary if we are to make sense of future energy transitions, yet the connections between past, present and future remain understated in current policy interventions.