Energy Securitisation: Applying the Copenhagen School’s Framework to Energy

Abstract

2006 the energy-security and climate change nexus has dominated political agendas in Europe and globally. Energy security and climate concerns have soared to the top of political agendas all over the Western world, and forums like the European Union and G8 have treated the discussions as highest priority issues. Meanwhile, all over Europe the public opinion seems ready to accept far-reaching measures, also at the expense of individual freedoms of manoeuvre, to curb carbon emissions and promote the use of renewable energy. In the words of the so-called Copenhagen school, the energy-security and climate change nexus has become heavily securitized (Buzan et al 1998). This field opens up vast challenges for policy makers all over the world, but also for practitioners of scholarly research.