ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the context and setting of the book. It introduces the issues relating to agricultural land and unconventional gas regulatory contestation in a global political context, in what the International Energy Agency has termed the ‘Golden Age of Gas’, where gas is seen as a bridging fuel for the transition to renewable energy. The chapter considers the concepts that are explored in this book, especially conflict and contestation. Furthermore, it provides an overview of shale gas and the role of hydraulic fracturing in shale gas exploration and development of shale gas. It examines the importance of energy security, and how, for some States, there is a pressing need for energy security ahead of food security, whereas for others this is not the case.
