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Afterword to Theme 5
ARTICLE IN PRESS Energy Policy 38 (2010) 2688
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol
Afterword to Theme 5
Game theory has both strengths and limitations. One model based on it defines trust as honesty—people telling the truth and the expectation that the other will be honest with you. Another model involves cooperation, where there might be a risk of defection and also a tendency for one party to exploit the cooperation of the other. Critics wonder what game theory has to offer when the dominant conditions of action are uncertainty and ambiguity, as in the case at hand of movement towards sustainable energy. Historical instances reveal that lack of trust between states over energy issues may be reparable. Swedish–Finnish relations in ¨ nuclear policy deteriorated after incidents at Barseback nuclear power plant in the 1980s. Over time, however, trust was re-established, notably after reconstruction of sovereignty and national identity within the EU.1 Not only states but also multinational companies are key players in the international arena. Here, a contradiction exists between the perceived levels of trust between administrations of USA and EU, and tensions between EU and US oil companies (such as Exxon and
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barseb%C3%A4ck_nuclear_power_plant
0301-4215/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2009.11.086
BP). Within Europe, in this game of future opportunities, there is superficial negative rhetoric about and stereotyping of players and oil companies in the USA. There is a more complex reality, for there are more patents in the USA in alternative energy technologies than in any other country, and more bio-fuel initiatives, hydrogen projects and solar sales than in Europe. Cities rather than nation states might contribute to cooperation on energy policy and climate change issues. The medieval and early modern history of the European ‘city state’ might suggest an important enabler of social identity in international relations. The officials of city states, rather than politicians of the Empire, were keepers of identity and the ones who created relationships of trust. Might this be a guide to the future?
Paul Bellaby Institute for Social, Cultural and Policy Research, University of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford M5 4WT, UK E-mail address: [email protected]
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol
Afterword to Theme 5
Game theory has both strengths and limitations. One model based on it defines trust as honesty—people telling the truth and the expectation that the other will be honest with you. Another model involves cooperation, where there might be a risk of defection and also a tendency for one party to exploit the cooperation of the other. Critics wonder what game theory has to offer when the dominant conditions of action are uncertainty and ambiguity, as in the case at hand of movement towards sustainable energy. Historical instances reveal that lack of trust between states over energy issues may be reparable. Swedish–Finnish relations in ¨ nuclear policy deteriorated after incidents at Barseback nuclear power plant in the 1980s. Over time, however, trust was re-established, notably after reconstruction of sovereignty and national identity within the EU.1 Not only states but also multinational companies are key players in the international arena. Here, a contradiction exists between the perceived levels of trust between administrations of USA and EU, and tensions between EU and US oil companies (such as Exxon and
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barseb%C3%A4ck_nuclear_power_plant
0301-4215/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2009.11.086
BP). Within Europe, in this game of future opportunities, there is superficial negative rhetoric about and stereotyping of players and oil companies in the USA. There is a more complex reality, for there are more patents in the USA in alternative energy technologies than in any other country, and more bio-fuel initiatives, hydrogen projects and solar sales than in Europe. Cities rather than nation states might contribute to cooperation on energy policy and climate change issues. The medieval and early modern history of the European ‘city state’ might suggest an important enabler of social identity in international relations. The officials of city states, rather than politicians of the Empire, were keepers of identity and the ones who created relationships of trust. Might this be a guide to the future?
Paul Bellaby Institute for Social, Cultural and Policy Research, University of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford M5 4WT, UK E-mail address: [email protected]