Introduction

This chapter situates the geopolitics of energy starting out from an everyday perspective, unravelling the connections between our everyday lives and the increasingly international, even globalized energy systems of the twenty-first century. It then discusses different meanings of “energy” as a concept, how various materials – from coal and petroleum to water and winds – have historically “become” energy and how they have been turned into “commodities” for worldwide circulation. Finally, the chapter discusses the concept of “geopolitics”, which in a similar vein has been interpreted in different ways by different people, and its significance in the global energy realm.