7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans
Energy security has traditionally been framed in terms of ensuring stable and affordable access to energy sources, such as oil and natural gas, where it is understood that the countries that control the oil spigot control the global economy. As the world shifts towards renewable energy systems, stra...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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Edward Elgar Publishing
2026
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| Online Access: | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173422 |
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| _version_ | 1869515743336333312 |
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| author | Kristoffersen, Berit Steinberg, Philip |
| author_browse | Kristoffersen, Berit Steinberg, Philip |
| author_facet | Kristoffersen, Berit Steinberg, Philip |
| author_sort | Kristoffersen, Berit |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Energy security has traditionally been framed in terms of ensuring stable and affordable access to energy sources, such as oil and natural gas, where it is understood that the countries that control the oil spigot control the global economy. As the world shifts towards renewable energy systems, strategic minerals are increasingly being framed in a similar way, as the new geopolitical assets. This chapter analyses this shift in the context of the ‘return of geopolitics’ to the Arctic, and in particular to the maritime Arctic, as it has been accompanied by a concern about how the region may be a site of energy insecurity, as well as hopes that the region can host innovations that will provide the world with sustainable energy security solutions. Nowhere is this clearer than in Norway, where energy security is mobilised as a geo/political discourse, with the energy security framing that has long prevailed for oil and gas now being transferred to a different resource base. Oil and gas production is presented as crucial to European security while deep sea mining is presented as crucial to the Western decarbonisation project through a self-fulfilling process of what we term ‘geopolitical forecasting’. In this way new frontiers for appropriation are integrated into pre-existing state economic imaginaries and governance practices. In response, this chapter proposes a research agenda that explores not simply how new energy sources can be mobilised for ‘energy security’ but how energy transitions can be genuinely transformative for how we conceptualise both governance and security. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-173422 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| publisherStr | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1734222026-03-10T14:32:01Z 7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans Kristoffersen, Berit Steinberg, Philip Deep Seabed Mining; Energy Security; Green Transition; Norway; Offshore Petroleum JP JPS JPSL RND Energy security has traditionally been framed in terms of ensuring stable and affordable access to energy sources, such as oil and natural gas, where it is understood that the countries that control the oil spigot control the global economy. As the world shifts towards renewable energy systems, strategic minerals are increasingly being framed in a similar way, as the new geopolitical assets. This chapter analyses this shift in the context of the ‘return of geopolitics’ to the Arctic, and in particular to the maritime Arctic, as it has been accompanied by a concern about how the region may be a site of energy insecurity, as well as hopes that the region can host innovations that will provide the world with sustainable energy security solutions. Nowhere is this clearer than in Norway, where energy security is mobilised as a geo/political discourse, with the energy security framing that has long prevailed for oil and gas now being transferred to a different resource base. Oil and gas production is presented as crucial to European security while deep sea mining is presented as crucial to the Western decarbonisation project through a self-fulfilling process of what we term ‘geopolitical forecasting’. In this way new frontiers for appropriation are integrated into pre-existing state economic imaginaries and governance practices. In response, this chapter proposes a research agenda that explores not simply how new energy sources can be mobilised for ‘energy security’ but how energy transitions can be genuinely transformative for how we conceptualise both governance and security. Published 2026-03-10T14:31:58Z 2026-03-10T14:31:58Z 2026-02-19 chapter 9781035318612 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173422 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/a-research-agenda-for-arctic-security-and-governance-9781035318605.html https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap-oa/book/9781035318612/chapter7.xml Edward Elgar Publishing Edward Elgar Publishing 10.4337/9781035318612.00012 10.4337/9781035318612.00012 01ceac28-75b4-492a-8eec-f9b98bc6b28c https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 9781035318612 Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham, UK open access |
| spellingShingle | Deep Seabed Mining; Energy Security; Green Transition; Norway; Offshore Petroleum JP JPS JPSL RND Kristoffersen, Berit Steinberg, Philip 7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans |
| title | 7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans |
| title_full | 7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans |
| title_fullStr | 7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans |
| title_full_unstemmed | 7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans |
| title_short | 7: Energy security in the maritime Arctic: pouring old wine into new oceans |
| title_sort | 7 energy security in the maritime arctic pouring old wine into new oceans |
| topic | Deep Seabed Mining; Energy Security; Green Transition; Norway; Offshore Petroleum JP JPS JPSL RND |
| topic_facet | Deep Seabed Mining; Energy Security; Green Transition; Norway; Offshore Petroleum JP JPS JPSL RND |
| url | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173422 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kristoffersenberit 7energysecurityinthemaritimearcticpouringoldwineintonewoceans AT steinbergphilip 7energysecurityinthemaritimearcticpouringoldwineintonewoceans |