Shaffer, Brenda. Energy Politics. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. 187 pp. ISBN 978-0-8122-4200-3
This book seeks to illustrate the intrinsically intertwined relationship between energy and international politics, with emphases on the politics of oil and natural gas. The first six chapters of the book are organized by topical issues in the realm of energy politics, including energy and regime type, foreign policy, pipeline trends, conflict, security and climate change. The following six chapters are devoted to individual analyses on six of the world's largest producers and consumers of energy: Russia, Europe, the United States, China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Thus Shaffer provides readers with both horizontal and vertical insights into the interconnection between energy and global politics.
Examining whether and how energy is used as a “weapon” in contemporary international politics, Shaffer explains the fundamentally different dynamics of natural gas and oil supplies. Understanding these energy sources is key to comprehending their political power. Of special note is the author’s attention devoted to natural gas – the fastest-growing fuel in terms of global consumption which has yet to be extensively discussed in academic research, and pipelines – a reemerging conduit of energy supply in the twenty-first century.
With regard to natural gas supply, the author identifies the degree of symmetry of dependence as the determinant of its stability, which is confirmed by her cogent case studies of Moscow’s gas supply relations with Europe. Furthermore, in light of the long-term relationship and long-term investment required by pipeline transport (used today in most international natural gas supplies and a small portion of oil trade), Shaffer reveals energy pipelines' vulnerability to security threats and its susceptivity to the political relations between linked states, thereby accentuates the significant role of transit states. However, Shaffer disperses the illusion of “peace pipelines” that energy pipelines can serve as a means for peace in conflict-ridden zones. Instead, she argues that cooperative political relations between states are more often a premise than a result of interstate energy infrastructures, with the exception of the pipelines in former Soviet states, which were built ahead of the Soviet breakup. Strong support to these arguments is offered by four well-analyzed case studies in Chapter 3 and 4, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project and Caspian Sea politics.
In addition, this book deserves credit for its examination on energy security issues. It offers an explicit notion of energy security -- a widely used but often vaguely defined term -- by dividing it into three components: reliability, affordability and environmental friendliness. Based on this definition, Shaffer specifies the tactics employed by states as well as international society to achieve energy security.
The book might have benefited from two things: a clearer presentation of the author’s own analysis regarding specific controversial issues other than a mere summary of existing diverse opinions; and a systematic theoretical framework to organize and support the main points. Nevertheless, Shaffer presents a comprehensive and timely picture of current energy politics, based on a wide range of sources. A future research agenda raised at the end of the book provides useful insights and implications for both researchers and policy-makers in the field of energy politics.
