Reflections on How Political Scientists (and Others) Might Think about Energy and Policy

Abstract

This article specifies three important factors regarding energy and policy. The first is that energy policy will be greatly influenced by Russia, China, and India in the coming years; the last two being the biggest energy consumers in the world. The second is that energy patterns of the poorest countries of the world will become difficult, unless there are notable economic and technological changes. The third and final factor is that global energy policy will be influenced by climatic events. The article looks at how political scientists have looked at energy and considers the experiences from US policy making regarding energy.

Policy design without democracy? Making democratic sense of transition management

“…Particularly significant here are energy matters which intersect with military policy such as nuclear and oil resources (Holden 2006). We have seen, for example, widespread public concern over nuclear arms (Dahl 1985) and the invasion of countries for their energy resources.…”

Reaction: Public Policy Challenges to Scientific Innovation on Solar Energy

“…However, there is also a notable disjuncture. 2 The public views the development of solar energy as leading to positive economic effects (i.e., cost savings)-they rated it the second most economically advantageous energy source (of the nine sources). In contrast, energy scientists are less sanguine about the impact of solar energy on energy costs-they rated it second to last in terms of its economic effects (i.e., they perceive solar energy as being more expensive than traditional energy sources).…”