Summary

Energy policy comprises rules concerning energy sources, energy efficiency, energy prices, energy infrastructure, and climate and environmental aspects of energy production, utilization, and transit. The main theme in this policy domain, especially in the European context, concerns the trade-offs between affordable, secure, and clean energy. Energy policy is a cross-sectoral—or boundary-spanning—policy domain, and as such, it is affected by decisions taken in other policy domains as well as affects what is decided there. The cross-sectoral character of energy policy is reflected in how it is proposed, adopted, implemented, and evaluated. The analytical perspectives on energy policy depend on the energy source of interest. Research concentrating on fossil energy sources (i.e., coal, oil, and natural gas) has traditionally adopted the analytical lens of international relations and international political economy. These lenses have also been important for the study of unconventional fossil energy sources (i.e., oil shale, oil sands, and shale gas) and nuclear power, for which, however, risk and uncertainty also play an important role. Questions concerning the supply and management of energy infrastructure have received attention from public administration scholars. The promotion of renewable energy as a central means for mitigating climate change has become one of the most intensely researched themes in the broader political science literature.