Interpreting the Global Energy Architecture

Abstract

The global multilateral energy architecture did not arise spontaneously, nor did it grow out of a single plan. Instead, its emergence was historically contingent and even marked by a certain degree of serendipity and accident. In hindsight, it nevertheless becomes possible to detect the deeper mechanisms by which the energy regime complex has emerged and changed over time. The purpose of this chapter is to uncover these mechanisms and forces that have shaped the design and operation of the global energy architecture. In other words, rather than to search for a hidden plan, this chapter looks for the underlying logic structuring the energy regime complex.