Call for Papers: Conflict, Cooperation, and Change in the Politics of Energy Interdependence
A special issue in Energy Research and Social Science
Guest editors: Mark T. Nance and William A. Boettcher, III
The geopolitics of energy has again become a major topic in policy and in the social sciences. In
response to continued concerns about conventional oil supplies, dramatically shifting oil prices, the
externalities associated with fossil fuels, the shifting of energy politics caused by the hydrofracturing
(i.e., fracking) revolution, and the on-going tensions between Ukraine and Russia and its ramifications
across Europe, policymakers everywhere are talking about energy as a question of national security.
The discourse this time around, especially in policy, is about “energy security,” or how to ensure a
reliable supply of affordable fuels. Increasingly, it seems that many see energy interdependence as a
strategic weakness and “energy independence” as optimal for national energy policy. Those coming to
that policy conclusion make two important assumptions. First, they assume that the politics of energy is
an inherently zero-sum and conflictual arena and that we cannot negotiate through those conflicts to
find cooperation. Second, it assumes that energy independence for any state is actually possible in a
strategically meaningful way.
Drawing in particular on insights from scholarship related to the link between energy and human and
national security, this special issue begins by questioning both of those assumptions. To begin,
cooperation on energy is probably more common than conflict, making the assumption of conflict hard
to defend. The line between cooperation and conflict can be blurry, especially when “cooperation”
extends only to a limited group. The influence of OPEC or the nuclear weapons states in global energy
markets comes to mind. Nonetheless, that sometimes blurry line reflects the reality that energy politics
is not inherently conflictual. That’s a very good thing, because for nearly every state, “independence” in
energy production can exist only on ledger sheets: a function of balancing total energy exports with total
energy imports. A state that exports as much energy in the form of natural gas as it imports in oilderived energy is energy independent by that most common measure, but energy sources are not
fungible across applications. Strategically, that state remains dependent on others to meet its energy
needs. The politics of energy will be more strongly influenced by that functional interdependence than
by mathematical independence.
Seen from that perspective, a debate that focuses exclusively on “energy security” risks missing more
pressing questions about “energy and security,” that is, the various links between energy production
and consumption, on one hand, and human and national security on the other. We hope with this
collection of papers to point out the continued salience of that conceptualization of the energy-security
nexus. We also aim to address one important aspect of that nexus, namely, how to mitigate conflict and
promote cooperation along, and among, global energy supply chains and the politics that surround
them. In other words, when do interactions in the production, transportation, and consumption of
energy generate conflict and when do they generate cooperation? And what role do policymakers have
in contributing to these outcomes? This project aims to bring together scholars who have established
records in areas related to energy (its production, transportation, and consumption) and the core
question of conflict, cooperation, and security. Two policy experts with long careers in the international
politics of energy will provide a commentary on the papers’ capacity to contribute to energy policy.
Toward those goals, the editors seek abstracts that address questions of conflict and cooperation on
topics including, but not limited to:
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Human security and energy;
Development and energy;
Energy and environmental protection;
Dual-use energy technology and non-proliferation; and
International institutions and global governance of energy relations.
We are especially interested in papers that consider the policy implications of theoretically grounded
work. Research in anthropology, sociology, psychology, or development studies are strongly
encouraged. We welcome all methodologies and theoretical orientations. The project will progress on
an expedited timeline, as laid out below. Papers should be roughly 6000 words.
March 21st – Abstracts due to guest editors at: [email protected]
March 28th – Authors notified
June 1st– Papers due for peer review
January 2017 – Publication in ERSS