ABSTRACT
Until just a decade ago, the term ‘energy security’ was almost unheard of outside the specialized analytical community. It now figures prominently in the policy discourse of major government officials. ‘Energy security’, said US President George W. Bush in March 2001, should be ‘a priority of our foreign policy’ and govern key elements of domestic policy (Bush 2001). Similar views have been expressed by President Barack Obama and the leaders
of other industrialized states, thus highlighting the importance now being accorded the energy issue. This naturally invites a pair of obvious questions: What, exactly, is meant by energy security, and why has this aspect of security gained such prominence now?
