Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
Finland
fellow
Piotr Żuk
Home institution
Karkonosze University of Applied Sciences
Country of origin (home institution)
Poland
Discipline(s)
Sociology
Theme(s)
Democracy, Citizenship, Governance
Energy & Renewable Resources
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Piotr Żuk graduated in sociology and defended his PhD in sociology at the University of Wrocław (based on his distinguished doctoral dissertation entitled Environmentalists, Feminists and Squatters: A Sociological Analysis of New Social Movements in Poland). He obtained a postdoctoral degree (habilitation) at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Adam Mickiewicz University based on his dissertation Structure and Culture: Conditions of Emancipation Orientation in Polish Society.In 2014, he co-founded the Centre for Civil Rights and Research on Democracy. Since 2022, he has been the president of the Institute for Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy foundation. He combines scientific work with social activity.
Research Project
In the Shadow of Populism and the War in Ukraine: Challenges for Energy Transition and Environmental Policy under the Conditions of the Crisis of Democracy
Piotr Żuk’s project aims to analyse the dynamic process of energy transition in a country that is dependent on coal, is sceptical of the EU energy and climate policy, breaks the rules of democracy, and is ruled by right-wing populists under the conditions of energy crisis. The implementation of his project, which combines the environmental, political, cultural and economic dimensions, will make it possible to capture and understand the interrelationships and challenges related to the impact of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis on the attitude of Polish society towards the goals of green transition. This is a good reason to ask about the relationship between energy security and acceptance of social innovation, and to reflect on whether energy transition can be connected with the democratisation of society. Recent years have shown that energy policy is not limited to technological issues and that control over the energy sector is an important tool for doing politics. Hence, the main question in the project is: Can concerns about the costs of energy transition and related challenges be another potential “new political fuel” for right-wing populists and authoritarian politics or will they be rather an impulse to develop democratisation and accelerate the bottom-up transition?
Research Interests:
Political sociology; social movements; environmental politics; energy transition; right-wing populism