Nyman, J. (2018) Rethinking energy, climate and security: a critical analysis of energy security in the US. Journal of International Relations and Development, 21. pp. 118-145. ISSN 1408-6980
Abstract
Understanding the complicated relationship between energy, climate and security is vital both to the study of international relations and to ensure the continued survival of a world increasingly threatened by environmental change. Climate change is largely caused by burning fossil fuels for energy, but while discussions on the climate consider the role of energy, energy security debates largely overlook climate concerns. This article traces the separation between energy and climate through an analysis of US energy security discourse and policy. It shows that energy security is continually constructed as national security, which enables very particular policy choices and prioritises it above climate concerns. Thus, in many cases, policies undertaken in the name of energy security contribute directly to climate insecurity. The article argues that the failure to consider securing the climate as inherently linked to energy security is not just problematic, but, given global warming, potentially harmful. Consequently, any approach to dealing with climate change has to begin by rethinking energy security and security more broadly, as national (energy) security politics no longer provides security in any meaningful sense.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of International Relations and Development. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | climate change; critical security studies; energy security; environmental security; United States |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2016 12:51 |
Last Modified: | 09 Apr 2024 11:01 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1057/jird.2015.26 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:105608 |