Module description
This module explores the contentious and ever-changing political economy of energy markets. The programme of study develops in three parts. The first part offers an historical perspective on the hydrocarbon economy. Having contextualized the rise of coal during the industrial revolution, we assess the neo-colonial arrangements that shaped oil production and distribution which emerged in the early twentieth century and which ended with the OPEC crisis of the 1970s. The second part surveys core debates in the IPE of energy, focusing specifically on the resource curse, energy geopolitics in Europe and the Middle East, and the boom in unconventional oil and gas production in the early twenty-first century. The third part explores the challenge of decarbonization, and assesses the promise and pitfalls of various low-carbon technologies and energy sources: including nuclear power, hydropower, wind, solar and hydrogen.
Assessment details
3,000-word essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
- To introduce students to the past, present and future of energy markets in a way which covers the essential vocabulary and literature in the field.
- To address some of the main controversies surrounding energy markets today such as the risk of resource scarcity, prospects for economic development for hydrocarbon rich economies, resource nationalism, the relation between global finance and energy corporations, the rise of renewables, transformations in the transportation sector, and international efforts to avert catastrophic climate change.
- To enhance analytical, reading and writing skills at MA-level in particular regard to economic terminology, explanations and information of direct use for modules in international political economy.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module students will be able to:
- Gain a good grasp of the general vocabulary, literature and controversies of the field
- Read, understand and make informed assessments of contemporary media coverage or business/policy reports with reference to a variety of IPE perspectives
- Identify, compare and evaluate competing explanations for policy shifts or changes in energy markets, with an understanding of the political and economic assumptions underpinning them
Teaching pattern
Indicative Teaching Schedule:
Part I. History of the Hydrocarbon Economy
1. Coal and the Rise of Industry
2. From the Neo-Colonial Oil Regime to the Rise of OPEC
Part II. Core Debates
3. Energy, Mineral Wealth and the Resource Curse
4. Oil and Conflict in the Middle East
5. Natural Gas and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
6. Hydraulic Fracturing and the Shale Revolution
Part III. Decarbonization in the 21st Century
7. Nuclear Power: Yesterday’s Future?
8. Biofuels, Hydropower and Geothermal Energy
9. Solar and Wind Power: From Mining to the Electricity Grid
10. Hope in Hydrogen?
Note that this teaching schedule is indicative and subject to change.
Suggested reading list
Core Texts:
- Dannreuther, R., & Ostrowski, W. (Eds.). (2022). Handbook on oil and international relations. Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Hancock, K. J., & Allison, J. E. (Eds.). (2020). The Oxford handbook of energy politics. Oxford University Press.
- Mitchell, T. (2009) Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil, London: Verso
- Newell, P. (2021). Power shift: The global political economy of energy transitions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Nitzan, J. and Bichler, S. (2002) The Global Political Economy of Israel: From War Profits to Peace Dividends, London: Pluto Press
- Podobnik, B. (2006) Global Energy Shifts: Fostering Sustainability in a Turbulent Age, Philadelphia: Temple University Press
- Scholten, D. (2018). (ed.) The Geopolitics of Renewables. Springer International Publishing.
- Smil, V. (2008). Oil: A Beginner's Guide. London: Oneworld Publications.
- Smil, V. (2015). Natural Gas: Fuel for the 21st Century. London: John Wiley & Sons.
- Yergin, D. (2012) The Quest. Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World, New York: Penguin