The pulse of dialogue

: explaining opposition to energy policies in Western Macedonia and Crete

Abstract

Guided by two core questions, this dissertation undertakes an exploratory journey into the dialogical dynamics of knowledge production. The first question analyses the explanatory strength of what I describe as “dialogical ethnographic theory,” theoretical frameworks formed in partnership with members of energy initiatives. This learning objective revolves around the explanatory potential of dialogical ethnographic theory vis-à-vis more hegemonic theoretical approaches that could have been employed, particularly the Theory of Planned Behaviour, a widely used model for interpreting psychosocial phenomena in social and environmental psychology. The second question explores the complications and implications of taking up dialogical approaches in the empirical social sciences.

The dissertation is structured into three main parts. In Part I, I draw on critical realism to explore the role of metatheory as an underlabourer, that is, as a supportive foundation for the explanatory-emancipatory social sciences. Part I explores the ontological, epistemological, methodological, and axiological implications of dialogical and explanatory approaches. Part II offers an in-depth analysis of the ethnographic fieldwork with energy initiatives against industrial renewable energy resources in Western Macedonia and the hydrocarbon exploration in Crete. Part II explores how explanatory ethnographic theories may be co-shaped through dialogues with members of community-based energy initiatives. Part III examines the dissertation’s contribution to critical theorisation in energy research. Drawing upon critical realism and dialogical ethnographic theory, Part III addresses the first research question by undertaking a metacritique of theorisation within the empirical social sciences, with particular emphasis on psychological theory. The second question is addressed through a reflective inquiry into both the transformative potential and the challenges of dialogical approaches amid the climate emergency.

Date of Award	29 Jun 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews University of Crete
Supervisor	Sofia Triliva (Supervisor), Daniel Knight (Supervisor) & Mette High (Supervisor)