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Title: Energy regimes and the development of the European Community

Abstract

Energy policy has historically played an important role in the development of the European Community (EC). This study examines the reasons for the choice of coal and atomic energy as regimes of integration, analyzes their impact on the institutions and political traditions of the EC, and evaluates their consistency with the principles of democratic governance. Functionalist theory has provided the idealogical foundations for the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. Functionalist theorists advocate technocracy as the means for overcoming the conflicts inherent in traditional political processes. Coal and atomic energy were chosen as regimes of integration because of their technocratic character and the importance attached to them as the dominant energy source of the time and the perceived source of energy abundance in the near future. Energy regimes could not be removed from the political context of national governance. Hard energy regimes, which include coal and atomic energy, are technocratic policies which exclude ordinary citizens from the exercise of power and intensify international conflict. An institutional analysis of the French and Danish electricity regimes demonstrates that their political characteristics are incompatible with the principles of democratic governance. It is also demonstrated that the characteristics ofmore » soft energy regimes (e.g., conservation and renewables) are compatible with these principles and are based on cooperation. An analysis of the EC's energy policy demonstrates that a soft energy path represents a concept of integration which distributes decision-making power among various levels of governance. A hard energy path would concentrate power in the hands of a technocratic elite. The pursuit of a soft energy path by the EC would enhance significantly the opportunities for political integration.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Delaware Univ., Newark, DE (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
7304118
Resource Type:
Miscellaneous
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY; COAL; POLITICAL ASPECTS; EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES; ENERGY POLICY; NUCLEAR ENERGY; NATIONALIZATION; CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS; ENERGY; ENERGY SOURCES; FOSSIL FUELS; FUELS; GOVERNMENT POLICIES; INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS; INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS; MATERIALS; 290200* - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology; 294001 - Energy Planning & Policy- Coal; 290600 - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy

Citation Formats

Hadjilambrinos, C J. Energy regimes and the development of the European Community. United States: N. p., 1993. Web.
Hadjilambrinos, C J. Energy regimes and the development of the European Community. United States.
Hadjilambrinos, C J. 1993. "Energy regimes and the development of the European Community". United States.
@article{osti_7304118,
title = {Energy regimes and the development of the European Community},
author = {Hadjilambrinos, C J},
abstractNote = {Energy policy has historically played an important role in the development of the European Community (EC). This study examines the reasons for the choice of coal and atomic energy as regimes of integration, analyzes their impact on the institutions and political traditions of the EC, and evaluates their consistency with the principles of democratic governance. Functionalist theory has provided the idealogical foundations for the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. Functionalist theorists advocate technocracy as the means for overcoming the conflicts inherent in traditional political processes. Coal and atomic energy were chosen as regimes of integration because of their technocratic character and the importance attached to them as the dominant energy source of the time and the perceived source of energy abundance in the near future. Energy regimes could not be removed from the political context of national governance. Hard energy regimes, which include coal and atomic energy, are technocratic policies which exclude ordinary citizens from the exercise of power and intensify international conflict. An institutional analysis of the French and Danish electricity regimes demonstrates that their political characteristics are incompatible with the principles of democratic governance. It is also demonstrated that the characteristics of soft energy regimes (e.g., conservation and renewables) are compatible with these principles and are based on cooperation. An analysis of the EC's energy policy demonstrates that a soft energy path represents a concept of integration which distributes decision-making power among various levels of governance. A hard energy path would concentrate power in the hands of a technocratic elite. The pursuit of a soft energy path by the EC would enhance significantly the opportunities for political integration.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/7304118}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993},
month = {Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993}
}

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