Global energy governance: a review and research agenda

Abstract

Over the past few years, global energy governance (GEG) has emerged as a major new field of enquiry in international studies. Scholars engaged in this field seek to understand how the energy sector is governed at the global level, by whom and with what consequences. By focusing on governance, they broaden and enrich the geopolitical and hard-nosed security perspectives that have long been, and still are, the dominant perspectives through which energy is analysed. Though still a nascent field, the literature on GEG is thriving and continues to attract the attention of a growing number of researchers. This article reviews the GEG literature as it has developed over the past 10 years. Our aim is to highlight both the progress and limitations of the field, and to identify some opportunities for future research. The article proceeds as follows. First, it traces the origins of the GEG literature (section "Origins and roots of GEG research"). The subsequent sections deal with the two topics that have received the most attention in the GEG literature: Why does energy need global governance (section "The goals and rationale of global energy governance")? And, who governs energy (section "Mapping the global energy architecture")? We then address a third question that has received far less attention: How well or poor is energy governed (section "Evaluating global energy governance")? In our conclusions (section "Conclusions and outlook"), we reflect on the current state of GEG, review recent trends and innovations, and identify some questions that warrant future consideration by scholars. This article is published as part of a thematic collection on global governance.Origins and roots of global energy governance (GEG) research

Trump’s “America first” energy policy, contingency and the reconfiguration of the global energy order

“…Other scholars use more neutral terms such as 'order' to avoid an implied institutionalist connotation inherent in concepts such as 'regime' or 'regime complex'. Van De Graaf and Colgan (2016) suggest the term 'imposed order' for global energy. Whether the 'regime' concept (Krasner, 1982), 'energy regime complex' (Colgan et al, 2012;Goldthau, 2013) or 'global energy governance' (GEG) (Van De Graaf and Colgan, 2016) is being used, consensus seems to be that an 'energy order' does exist, and that it operates at the macro-structural level as a set of rules that constrain and enable the behavior of relevant players, be it national governments or extractive companies.…”

“…With respect to the second questionpertaining to the recent shifta new strand in the International Political Economy (IPE) of energy (Hancock and Vivoda, 2014) has emerged to address the question of energy regime transitions (see e.g. Goldthau, 2013;Van de Graaf and Colgan, 2016). Drawing on Krasner's earlier formulation, Colgan and collaborators (2012) argue that shifts in energy regime complexes follow a path-dependent pattern and are best captured by the punctuated equilibrium model.…”

Analytical Approaches to Blending Political Science with the Study of energy Markets.

“…Recent decades have highlighted another challenge at the international level: building effective and responsive regimes for global energy governance (Van de Graaf and Colgan 2016). The most visible actions in recent years have occurred under the umbrella of the Paris Agreement and nuclear energy management (e.g., the IAEA).…”

“…Existing studies have not sufficiently blended political science with energy markets at the dyadic level to look at bilateral relations vis-à-vis energy, especially in large-N settings (Levi 2010). Other scholars also contend that studies on energy from a political science perspective have been largely confined to security-related issues, although interest in global energy governance has surged over the last decade (Van de Graaf and Colgan 2016…”

Analysing the Institutional Setting of Local Renewable Energy Planning and Implementation in the EU: A Systematic Literature Review

“…This conceptualisation is required to enable us to identify what the concepts of the action situation mean in debates regarding energy planning processes. Energy governance is often discussed for the global level [28][29][30]; energy governance at the city district level is specifically referred to as urban energy governance. The notion of urban energy governance is "used broadly to capture the multitude of ways in which urban actors engage with energy systems, flows and infrastructures in order to meet particular collective goals and needs, as framed or expressed in policymaking processes, but also in debates, contestations and conflicts over policy orientations, resources and outcomes" [31] (p. 174).…”