Call for Papers

Open Call Dossier

Just Transitions in the Face of Contemporary Socio-Ecological Transformations: Labor, Community Participation, and Energy

Coordinators

Eliana Canafoglia (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo / CONICET, Argentina)
Diego Álvarez Newman (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia)

The dynamics of capital are increasingly and decisively played out in the articulation between labor and energy, inseparable dimensions of the accumulation processes that entail the productive, labor, and environmental transformation of our territories. In Latin America and the Caribbean, these transformations are expressed in disputes over the control, use, and appropriation of the commons, in the reorganization of labor processes, and in the intensification of pressures on territories and their conditions for the reproduction of life.

 

In this context, it is necessary to call into question the very notion of transition: What is being transformed? Who drives and leads these changes? Who benefits, and who bears their social and environmental costs? Far from being a linear, consensual process, or one inevitably oriented toward horizons of sustainability, transitions express power relations and conflicts over the meanings, pace, and conditions of transformation. In particular, the current cycle of capitalist accumulation, driven by technology corporations, displays a disruptive dynamic that advances without necessarily requiring consensus-building or the prior reorganization of regulatory frameworks.

We invite the submission of original articles that examine in depth the diverse configurations these disputes take on in Latin America and the Caribbean, paying attention to the concrete ways in which the transformations of capital reshape social, productive, labor, and environmental relations in each territory. From this perspective, a just transition is not a universal horizon whose content is defined in advance. We therefore ask: Which actors manage to define the meanings of the transition? What power relations does it reproduce, transform, or challenge? What conditions make it possible to sustain life, guarantee rights, and democratize decisions about the future of territories?

We welcome papers that problematize the meanings and directions of transitions, the power relations involved in shaping them, and the social, economic, and environmental inequalities that may be reproduced or deepened as they unfold. Special consideration will be given to contributions that help to understand the just transition as a historically situated and socially contested process, with attention to the material conditions, labor relations, and capacities for collective intervention of workers and communities. Of particular interest is their participation in decisions about energy and territories, as well as in the construction of horizons of climate, environmental, social, and economic justice.

Contributions should adopt a Latin American regional perspective. Studies comparing countries and subnational units (such as provinces, states, and cities) are especially welcome, while case studies are also encouraged.

Submissions must comply with the journal’s focus and its Guidelines for Authors. The dossier will be published in June 2027.

Submission deadline: January 15, 2027.