The Politics of Shale Gas in Eastern Europe
Energy Security, Contested Technologies and the Social Licence to Frack

Uses a policy regime approach to conduct a comparative analysis of the public policies of shale gas in Eastern Europe.

Andreas Goldthau (Author)

9781316635223, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 October 2019

212 pages, 6 b/w illus. 10 tables
15 x 23 x 1 cm, 0.32 kg

'This important book is among the first to link the geopolitics of energy firmly back to local policy dynamics. It reveals how critical national policy is in determining whether society accepts - or rejects - fracking technology. A highly-recommended read for anyone interested in European energy security, and the prospects of shale to eventually 'go global'.' Meghan O'Sullivan, Harvard Kennedy School, Massachusetts

Fracking is a novel but contested energy technology – so what makes some countries embrace it whilst others reject it? This book argues that the reason for policy divergence lies in procedures and processes, stakeholder inclusion and whether a strong narrative underpins governmental policies. Based on a large set of primary data gathered in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, it explores shale gas policies in Central Eastern Europe (a region strongly dependent on Russian gas imports) to unveil the importance of policy regimes for creating a 'social license' for fracking. Its findings suggest that technology transfer does not happen in a vacuum but is subject to close mutual interaction with political, economic and social forces; and that national energy policy is not a matter of 'objective' policy imperatives, such as Russian import dependence, but a function of complex domestic dynamics pertaining to institutional procedures and processes, and winners and losers.

1. Introduction: shale gas, energy security and comparative public policy
2. The policy context: European energy security and Russian import dependence
3. The analytical context: policy regimes and the social license
4. The stalling front runner: Poland
5. The nay-sayer: Bulgaria
6. A no with options: Romania
7. The comparative public policy of shale gas in Eastern Europe
8. Conclusion: shale gas, technology transfer and energy security.

Subject Areas: Environmental management [RNF], Comparative politics [JPB], Ethical issues: scientific & technological developments [JFMG]