The institutional axis of hegemony: Phasing out coal at the Port of Newcastle

Abstract

‘Supply-side fossil fuel policy’ (SSP), such as banning new coal mines, is required to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. However, SSP remains elusive amid Australia’s continuing fossil fuel expansion. This thesis studies how the Australian state maintains ‘fossil fuel hegemony’, developing the concept of an ‘institutional axis’ of hegemony to analyse barriers to SSP in particular contexts. By concentrating on the state and the institutional dimension of hegemony, this thesis complements existing research into the fossil fuel industry’s material and discursive power to influence political outcomes. To this end, the thesis conducts a political economic history of the Port of Newcastle (the world’s largest coal port) over the last two decades. At this globally significant site of coal supply, it applies strategic-relational state theory to identify four ‘institutional logics’ through which state institutions sustain hegemony. These logics are ‘regulating’, ‘facilitating’, ‘privatising’ and ‘legitimising’. Changes to these institutional logics would undermine fossil fuel hegemony and increase the potential for SSP to be implemented.