New Book Out - Global Energy Politics
Benjamin Sovacool
Hello everyone,
Although Thijs and I are anxious that nobody actually reads books anymore, we did want to make you aware of a just-released tome from us on Global Energy Politics, published a few weeks ago with Polity Press:
https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509530489&subject_id=2
For the fiscally aware, the book is under $30 in paperback and electronic book form. Below is the blurb and below that the table of contents. It’s meant for students, but we’re also keen for feedback and for colleagues to engage with the book in their research.
To request a draft chapter or two, just write us back. Offers for book reviews, even critical ones, heartily welcome!
Take care everyone,
Benjamin K. Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy at Sussex University, Professor of Business and Social Sciences at Aarhus University
Thijs van de Graaf, Associate Professor of International Politics, University of Ghent
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Ever since the Industrial Revolution energy has been a key driver of world politics. From the oil crises of the 1970s to today’s rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, every shift in global energy patterns has important repercussions for international relations.
In this new book, Thijs Van de Graaf and Benjamin Sovacool uncover the intricate ways in which our energy systems have shaped global outcomes in four key areas of world politics: security, the economy, the environment and global justice. Moving beyond the narrow geopolitical focus that has dominated much of the discussion on global energy politics, they also deftly trace the connections between energy, environmental politics, and community activism.
The authors argue that we are on the cusp of a global energy shift that promises to be no less transformative for the pursuit of wealth and power in world politics than the historical shifts from wood to coal and from coal to oil. This ongoing energy transformation will not only upend the global balance of power; it could also fundamentally transfer political authority away from the nation state, empowering citizens, regions and local communities.
Global Energy Politics will be an essential resource for students of the social sciences grappling with the major energy issues of our times.
Contents
Foreword by Adnan Z. Amin
Preface
1. Introduction: Systems, Frames, and Transitions
2. The History and Functioning of Energy Markets
Part I: World Politics Through an Energy Prism
3. Energy and Security: Fueling Geopolitics and War?
4. Energy and the Economy: Powering Growth and Prosperity?
5. Energy and the Environment: Wrecking the Planet?
6. Energy and Justice: Equitable and Fair?
Part II: Governing the Energy Transition
7. Energy Technologies and Innovation
8. National and Regional Energy Policy
9. Global Energy Governance
10. Conclusions: Contested Energy Futures