Fuels Paradise: Seeking Energy Security in Europe, Japan, and the United States

by John S. Duffield

Overview

Is the quest for true energy security a fool's errand?

In recent years, the efforts of nations to promote energy security have been hotly debated. Fuels Paradise examines how five major developed democracies--Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States--have sought to enhance their energy security since the oil shocks of the 1970s and in response to the more diverse set of challenges of the early twenty-first century. Drawing on a vast range of primary and secondary sources, John S. Duffield explains the actions taken--and not taken--by these countries to address their energy security concerns.

Throughout the book, Duffield argues that state strength and policy legacies are essential for understanding national responses to energy insecurity. In addition to identifying feasible energy policies and the constraints faced by policy makers, he evaluates the prospects for international cooperation to promote energy security and considers the implications of recent advances in the production and distribution of energy, particularly the fracking revolution.

An ambitious cross-national and longitudinal study grounded in promising theories of national behavior, Fuels Paradise will contribute substantially to broader debates about the determinants of state action and public policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421416731
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	06/15/2015
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John S. Duffield is a professor of political science and the director of academic assessment at Georgia State University. He is the author most recently of Over a Barrel: The Costs of U.S. Foreign Oil Dependence and the coeditor of Toward a Common European Union Energy Policy: Progress, Problems, and Prospects.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
1. The Puzzle
Part One
2. What's the Problem? Energy Security in the Developed Democracies
3. What's a State to Do? Potential Policy Responses to Energy Insecurity
4. Explaining State Responses to Energy Insecurity
Part Two
5. Britain
6. France
7. Germany
8. Japan
9. The United States
10. The Quest for Energy Security
Notes
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Stephen M. Walt

All industrial powers seek energy security, but not in the same way. By carefully comparing the energy policies of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States, Duffield shows how domestic politics and past 'policy legacies' shape these different paths. Fuels Paradise is a terrific book and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how democracies keep the lights lit and the home fires burning.

From the Publisher

Written in a simple, readable, direct style, Fuels Paradise is a unique comparison of the respective energy policies—and energy vulnerability and security—of advanced industrial democracies.
—Charles F. Doran, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

All industrial powers seek energy security, but not in the same way. By carefully comparing the energy policies of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States, Duffield shows how domestic politics and past 'policy legacies' shape these different paths. Fuels Paradise is a terrific book and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how democracies keep the lights lit and the home fires burning.
—Stephen M. Walt, John F. Kennedy School of Government, author of Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy

Fuels Paradise is an informative, theoretically nuanced analysis of the energy security policies of the world’s key developed democracies. Drawing on well-structured histories of each country’s energy policies, Duffield explains their divergences largely as a result of differences in what he terms the ‘three faces of state strength.’ A wide range of readers—including energy experts, political scientists, and policy makers—will find great value in this book.
—Charles L. Glaser, George Washington University, author of Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation

Charles F. Doran

Written in a simple, readable, direct style, Fuels Paradise is a unique comparison of the respective energy policies—and energy vulnerability and security—of advanced industrial democracies.

Charles L. Glaser

Fuels Paradise is an informative, theoretically nuanced analysis of the energy security policies of the world’s key developed democracies. Drawing on well-structured histories of each country’s energy policies, Duffield explains their divergences largely as a result of differences in what he terms the ‘three faces of state strength.’ A wide range of readers—including energy experts, political scientists, and policy makers—will find great value in this book.