ABSTRACT

This chapter draws on a systems perspective and an actor-based approach to unravel the dynamics of energy dependence. The chapter starts out by outlining the main patterns of (inter)dependence in global energy and how these have changed over time, in often unexpected ways. The systems perspective helps us to deconstruct simplistic statistical indicators of dependence, emphasizing that actors in different countries depend on each other not primarily for energy supplies as such, but rather on the international systems through which the energy moves and transforms. Such a view generates new, unexpected geographies of energy dependence. A further theme of central importance concerns the underlying motivations of actors when it comes to engaging – or not engaging – in international energy relations. We discern, in particular, how (strongly subjective) perceptions of opportunities and risks have shaped the global energy supply in fateful ways.