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Analysing Energy Transitions: Combining Insights from Transition Studies and International Political Economy

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The Palgrave Handbook of the International Political Economy of Energy

Part of the book series: Palgrave Handbooks in IPE ((PHIPE))

Abstract

Energy transitions are understood as structural long-term transformations of the way energy needs are met. The ongoing energy transition poses significant challenges for analysis and theory building. It is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and complexity, a key role for public policy, strong vested interests and lock-in, simultaneous changes of technologies, organizations and institutional structures, and a variety of possible transition pathways. This chapter discusses how insights from two so far disconnected strands of literature, transition studies and international political economy, can be mobilized for addressing these challenges when studying energy transitions. The chapter also briefly introduces the other chapters in this section.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Here and elsewhere, we use the singular (‘energy transition’) as a catchword to point to general characteristics of energy transitions. At the same time, we acknowledge that there is not one energy transition but that actual transition processes and pathways may vary substantially, for example, across different countries or regions.

  2. 2.

    Note that in transition studies, institutions are mostly viewed as formal and informal rules and/or patterns of behaviour, not as organizations that create and implement policies.

  3. 3.

    The contribution of nuclear to electricity production was 15 % in 2013 (down from almost 30% in earlier years). Denmark has never used nuclear power.

  4. 4.

    However, as renewable energy and efficiency technologies become more and more mature and economically attractive, policies might lose some of their importance as drivers of sustainable energy transitions.

  5. 5.

    Note that table entries are indicative; among others they do not fully reflect the differences among frameworks within the two strands of literature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sussex Energy Group, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

    Florian Kern

  2. Department of Management, Technology and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Jochen Markard

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  1. Florian Kern
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent Institute for International Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Thijs Van de Graaf

  2. University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom

    Benjamin K. Sovacool

  3. Council on Energy, Environment and Water, New Delhi, India

    Arunabha Ghosh

  4. University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom

    Florian Kern

  5. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA

    Michael T. Klare

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Kern, F., Markard, J. (2016). Analysing Energy Transitions: Combining Insights from Transition Studies and International Political Economy. In: Van de Graaf, T., Sovacool, B., Ghosh, A., Kern, F., Klare, M. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the International Political Economy of Energy. Palgrave Handbooks in IPE. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55631-8_12

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