ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the mesmerizing variety of actors that in one way or another play significant roles in the geopolitics of energy. It starts out by discussing the role of private enterprise as a powerful actor category, for which the lure of energy sources as tradable commodities takes centre stage. It then turns to the heterogeneity of the state as an actor, whose interests are less clear-cut, and its quest for control over energy in the transnational context. The lives of state-owned energy companies, as a special category of public actors, are also scrutinized. Moreover, state actors at sub-national – regional and local – levels need to be taken into account. The focus then shifts to a number of additional actor categories, such as trade unions, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), scientists and media – all of which have contributed decisively to shaping the geopolitics of energy over the years.
