Energy and Geopolitics
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:10th Dec '26
£171.99
This title is due to be published on 10th December, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£43.99(9781041036043)
This introductory textbook offers students a comprehensive and accessible overview of the complex relationship between energy supply, energy markets and international politics.
The idea that energy shapes and is shaped by geopolitics is firmly rooted in the popular imagination – and not without reason. Very few countries have the means to secure their energy needs through locally available supplies; instead, enduring dependencies upon other countries have developed. Given energy’s strategic significance, supply systems for fuels and electricity are now seamlessly interwoven with foreign policy and global politics. Energy and Geopolitics enables students to enhance their understanding of this field and sharpen their analytical skills. Per Högselius guides us through the complexities of world energy and international energy relations, examining a wide spectrum of fossil fuels, alongside nuclear and renewable energies. Uniquely, the book also shows how the geopolitics of energy is not merely a matter for the great powers and reveals how actors in the world’s smaller nations are as active in their quest for power and control. This revised and expanded edition takes into account several dramatic shifts that have occurred in recent years in the global energy arena, including the spectacular renewables boom, the quest for transnational electricity grids and hydrogen trade, and the radical restructuring of global fossil fuel flows following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the eruption of the Iran war in 2026.
Encouraging students to apply a number of central concepts and theoretical ideas to different energy sources within a multitude of geographical, political and historical contexts, this book will be a vital resource to students and scholars of geopolitics, energy security and international environmental policy and politics.
“Energy and Geopolitics provides accessible and excellent background on primary and secondary energy sources while adeptly explaining key tensions and debates in the field. Each topic’s real-world relevance is brought to life through fascinating historical examples. The updated treatment of renewables, critical minerals, and recent crises underscores why energy remains central to understanding global politics. An indispensable resource for students and scholars.”
– Karen Smith Stegen, Constructor University, Germany
“Energy and Geopolitics is a fascinating contribution in the transnational historiography of energy. Moving beyond conventional resource-centered geopolitics, it develops a sophisticated socio-technical understanding of energy systems. Its strongest contribution lies in showing how infrastructures, interdependencies, and political imaginaries shape international relations. The book challenges the dominant assumption that energy geopolitics is primarily about conflict and coercion. By emphasizing the Saint-Simonian tradition of infrastructures as instruments of peace and cooperation, the book provides a historically rich and analytically nuanced framework for understanding globalization, European integration, and contemporary energy transitions. This is a book that needs to be read by historians of energy and technology, STS scholars as well as researchers in the field of sustainability transitions.”
– Stathis Arapostathis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
“Historian Per Högselius shows that, despite the weaponization of energy dependencies and recurring energy crises, the interdependence created through energy flows remains a powerful yet underestimated force. Drawing on a rich historical perspective, he demonstrates that today’s challenges are not without precedent while avoiding oversimplifications that obscure the complexities of the energy landscape and leave societies ill-prepared for the crises they face.”
– Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, Aleksanteri Institute, Finland
“The second edition of Energy and Geopolitics is a timely, original and innovative study of the complex historical roots of today’s global energy landscape. By adopting a sociotechnical systems perspective, Per Högselius offers new ways of understanding the geopolitics of energy, through the study of the interaction between different actors and institutions, and the making and remaking of energy geographies.”
– Elisabetta Bini, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
ISBN: 9781041036067
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
226 pages
2nd edition