This book explores the role which policy networks and particularly advocacy coalitions play in EU energy policy, and the factors that account for their policy success. It captures the often neglected interaction between public and private actors in EU energy security policy and between opposing advocacy coalitions. The volume’s case studies examine coalitions working on two issues central to EU energy policy debates over the last decade: fracking for shale gas and developing the Southern Gas Corridor, a pipeline system linking Europe with the gas region of the Caspian Sea. Although the coalitions studied are focused on impacting EU energy policy, they stretch beyond the EU borders. The book draws on original, rich, and intriguing data, around 90 interviews with energy stakeholders and over six months of fieldwork and participant observation, analysed through an innovative combination of frame analysis and social network analysis.
Author(s): Alexandra-Maria Bocse
Series: Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 245
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Relevance of the Field of European Energy Policy
Case Study Selection
Theoretical Framework
Resources: Access and Influence
Framing as a Source of Influence
Network Theory and Structure
Research Methods
Semi-structured Interviews
Participant Observation
Data Analysis
Overview of the Book Chapters
Chapter 2: The European Union and Energy Policy: Developments and Institutional Actors
Limited Integration Despite a Promising Start
The Emergence of Energy Security Policy
The Energy Security of the EU: What Does It Entail?
The External Dimension of EU Energy Policy
The European Parliament and EU Energy Policy
Conclusion
Chapter 3: Fracking in the European Union: Coalitions in Collision
The European Union and Fracking: Background and Developments
The European Parliament: A Target of Advocacy
Introducing the Clashing Coalitions
Chapter 4: Fracking in the European Union: The Power of Resources, Words, and Structure
The Power of Resources
Possessing Information of Technical Nature
Possessing Financial Resources
The Power of Words
Broad Frame and Resonating With Many Actors
Responding to Exogenous Unfolding Events
Responding Effectively to Opposing Frames
The Power of Structure
Interconnected Coalition
Including Nodes Central to the Subsystem
Conclusion
Chapter 5: The Southern Gas Corridor: Coalitions in Collision
The Southern Gas Corridor: Background and Developments
The European Commission: A Target of Advocacy
Introducing the Clashing Coalitions
The Silent Participants
Chapter 6: The Southern Gas Corridor: The Power of Resources, Words, and Structure
The Power of Resources
Possessing Information
Possessing Financial Resources
The Power of Words
Broad Frame and Resonating with Many Actors
Responding to Exogenous Unfolding Events
Responding Effectively to Opposing Frames
The Power of Structure
Interconnected Coalition
Including Nodes Central to the Subsystem
Conclusion
Chapter 7: Further Discussion and Conclusions
Contribution to EU Energy Policy Literature
Contribution to the Advocacy Coalition and Governance Literatures
Contribution to Methodology
Policy Recommendations
Research Limitations and Additional Research Avenues
Glossary
References
Primary Sources
Interviews: Fracking for Shale Gas Case Study
Interviews: Southern Gas Corridor Case Study
Documents and Media
Secondary Sources
Index
