Landscapes of Paradox: Public Discourses and Policies in Poland's Relationship With the Nord Stream Pipeline

Bouzarovski, Stefan; Konieczny, Marcin

doi:10.1080/14650040903420362

Cited by 34 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This is demonstrated, for example, by the manner in which different geographical imaginations and displays of technological superiority have been used to legitimize territorial claims on the Arctic seabed (Jessup 2008). In the European context, discourses relating to the construction of a new Baltic undersea pipeline linking Russia and Germany (also known as "Nord Stream") have been used as a conduit for the articulation of particular national identity narratives and energy network development visions (Bouzarovski and Konieczny 2010). Despite being an Energy and Identity: Imagining Russia as a Hydrocarbon Superpower 787 imaginary object-the pipeline still only exists on the drawing boards held by its managing company, based in Switzerland-Nord Stream has managed to project itself into the material landscapes of the Baltic region through a variety of associated infrastructural undertakings (liquified natural gas terminals, nuclear power stations, high-voltage power lines) that have drawn their legitimacy from the discourses of fear associated with it.…”

Section: Connecting Energy Discourse and Identitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Energy and Identity: Imagining Russia as a Hydrocarbon Superpower

Bouzarovski

Bassin

2011

Annals of the Association of American Geographers

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Section: Connecting Energy Discourse and Identitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Energy and Identity: Imagining Russia as a Hydrocarbon Superpower

Bouzarovski

Bassin

2011

Annals of the Association of American Geographers

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“…Critical scholars who focus on energy and space, focus mainly on energy (mostly oil) as an object of political power, states, corporations and inter‐imperialist rivalry (O'Connor ; Podobnik ; Labban ; Mitchell ), or on the role of state control over energy in larger politics of state formation, national identity and social movements (Coronil ; Watts ; Perreault and Valdivia 2010). Furthermore, new scholarship on energy has emphasised the intense politics that surround the networks of energy distribution – particularly pipelines (Bouzarovski and Konieczny ; Johnson and Derrick ; Barry ). In this view, energy is a strategic object ‘in space’ along with other fixed networks of energy provision (pipelines, choke points, electric grids) that, if controlled, allows for regimes of power to be reproduced.…”

Section: Energy and The Socioecological Production Of Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the subterranean energy regime? Fuel, land use and the production of space

Huber

McCarthy²

2017

Trans Inst British Geog

134

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In this paper, we argue that energy should be seen as a critical aspect of changing historical regimes in the social production of space. We suggest the common definition of energy as the ‘capacity to do work’ ignores key aspects of the space required for energy in the first place (particularly the concept of power density). Articulating the basic spatial concept of power density with a historical–geographical materialist understanding of energy regimes, we argue that industrial capitalism is defined by an intensive vertical reliance upon subterranean stocks of energy that require relatively little surface land to harness. Previous modes of production were characterised by a more ‘horizontal’ reliance upon extensive territory (e.g. forests) to meet fuel needs. While attentive to the spatialities of overall energy complexes, we focus in particular on how the spatialities of energy sources affect the production of space in major and distinctive ways. Drawing from environmental and economic history, we argue the use of fossil fuels ushered in a ‘subterranean energy regime’ that not only relied on underground stocks of energy, but substantially relieved the societal demand for land‐based and spatially extensive sources of fuel (i.e. wood and other organic sources). The use of subterranean fuel (first coal) not only powered machines, but revolutionised ‘heat‐process’ industries like iron smelting that dramatically expanded the steel and other metal industries; thus, transforming the built environment. We then consider the spatial and land‐use implications of a transition away from this subterranean regime to renewable energy sources (solar and wind). A return to the surface for energy would not be biological as in pre‐industrial times, but industrial in the sense that these systems require industrial production. Moreover, the spatially extensive nature of such energy technologies should raise important political questions about existing land‐use patterns and livelihoods, particularly in rural areas.

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“…Bouzarovski and Konieczny () examine the proposed Russia–Germany Nord Stream sub‐sea pipeline (completed in late 2012). While literally bypassing Eastern European transit states like Ukraine and Poland, Nord Stream fails to bypass regional politics, both condensing and exacerbating political and economic tensions surrounding Europe's energy dependency on Russia.…”

Section: Petro‐geographies: Economies Of Oil Violence Goepolitical Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While literally bypassing Eastern European transit states like Ukraine and Poland, Nord Stream fails to bypass regional politics, both condensing and exacerbating political and economic tensions surrounding Europe's energy dependency on Russia. They suggest that “international gas pipelines can impact a country's spatial formations both directly (through the physical structures associated with the pipelines themselves) and indirectly (by affecting national economic development and energy policies)” (17), creating a ‘quasi‐ material’ paradox in which oil produces space “in material and discursive terms alike” Bouzarovski and Konieczny (). This echoes Bebbington's examples from Latin American experiences, which reveal how even “imagined extraction of the subsoil can elicit rapid political economy changes” (, 1155).…”

Section: Petro‐geographies: Economies Of Oil Violence Goepolitical Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Petro‐States to ‘new realities’: Perspectives on the Geographies of oil

Kennedy

2014

Geography Compass

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Recent “oil shocks” in the form of not only price volatility, but also catastrophic oil spills, growing acceptance of climate change, and public contestations over oil wars and major projects, have multiplied in recent years – indications that the spaces and practices of energy intensive social formations are becoming increasingly politicized objects of concern. The paper summarizes the petro‐state thesis and reviews recent contributions on the geographies of oil. While the petro‐state is useful for conceptualizing some aspects of the political dynamics of oil, it fails to capture some of the dynamics of concern in four major areas of work on geographies of oil: petro‐capitalism and economies of oil violence, socially produced scarcity, petro‐state(s) and expanded oil polities, and the “new realities of oil,” such as price volatility, changes in size and location of demand and supply, and the energy dilemmas associated with energy security and climate change. The conclusion discusses recent work that ties the political geographies of oil to geographies everyday life, pointing to a research agenda for integrating the consideration hydrocarbons into wider geographical inquiries.

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Landscapes of Paradox: Public Discourses and Policies in Poland's Relationship With the Nord Stream Pipeline

Cited by 34 publications

References 5 publications

Energy and Identity: Imagining Russia as a Hydrocarbon Superpower

Energy and Identity: Imagining Russia as a Hydrocarbon Superpower

Beyond the subterranean energy regime? Fuel, land use and the production of space

From Petro‐States to ‘new realities’: Perspectives on the Geographies of oil

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