Global energy studies have produced a flurry of empirical analyses. However, the amount of theoretical reflection on the topic remains comparatively low. This article takes two specific limitations of the literature as its starting point: First, the often-unclear relationship between states and markets in global energy governance, and, second, the concept of energy as a material and external structure. With the aim of providing more nuanced perspectives on these issues, the article turns to the work of Niklas Luhmann and Bruno Latour. Luhmann’s ideas of functional differentiation and structural coupling provide a new look at the interaction of states and markets. Latour’s symmetric anthropology allows us to rethink energy as a hybrid that is in the midst of instead of outside society. While these thinkers provide interesting ways forward for global energy studies, they also appear to be utterly incompatible. Instead of accepting this incompatibility, however, the article uses the tension between Luhmann and Latour’s work as a productive resource for further reflection on global energy governance. It develops a ‘Luhtourian’ approach, arguing that hybrid, issue-specific governance systems can emerge whenever a resistant hybrid instigates the emergence of symbolically generalized governance objects.
EU energy policy has often been criticized for disregarding external developments and for not speaking with a single voice in international affairs. Based on a broadly constructivist perspective, this article argues that such criticism is unwarranted. By analysing discursive and institutional changes in internal and external EU energy policy between 2000 and 2016, the article makes three major points. First, external developments were major drivers of the EU’s internal policymaking. Second, EU external energy policy has changed substantially over time and has made important steps towards the creation of a ‘single voice’. Third, such ‘single voice’ should not be taken as the only relevant attribute of EU external energy policy. Drawing on complexity theory and the EU external governance literature, the article argues that Europe should begin to regard its ‘polyphony’ as an asset rather than a burden – it should strive for many voices carrying coordinated messages.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.