It is Time We Owned the Future

Dr. Fatima Denton has been appointed to the Prince Claus Chair in Equity and Development 2022-2024 at Utrecht University. On July 5, she gave her inaugural lecture in which she explored the dynamics of power and powerlessness in climate diplomacy beyond the surface of just transitions. During her lecture, Fatima Denton took her audience on an insightful journey into the intricacies of power dynamics, raising fundamental questions: What is the essence of power? Where does it reside? What fuels its existence? She contended that exploring these inquiries would enhance our comprehension of how power is harnessed to generate and perpetuate certain scenarios and outcomes. Perspectives on power. Her lecture seamlessly intertwined the perspectives of influential social theorists and philosophers, ranging from Marx to Foucault, with personal anecdotes and childhood reminiscences. Denton skillfully traversed political, economic, social, legal, and institutional paradigms that facilitate the prevalence of power. By illustrating instances of power's impact on justice and tracing the origins of injustice in negotiation processes, she shed light on the prevailing winner-takes-all approach that underpins current institutional governance and systems.