Great Power Politics, Elites and Energy

Great Power Politics, Elites and Energy explores the dynamics between great power politics, elites and energy, utilizing a critical political economic and historical materialist perspective that moves away from a Western-centric viewpoint and dominant International Relations methodologies.

The book highlights the reality of national ruling class competition and domination that is at the core of the dynamics of the international system, and the dependence on ever-increasing amounts of energy to bolster state power, a great power politics that locks in a power-up and ongoing usage of fossil fuels, when a power-down and energy transition is actually what is required. The way in which elites dominate their own society, and can dominate other societies, is fully theorized, together with the fundamental clash between Chinese and US political economic models and elites. The internal dynamics of China, the USA and Russia are investigated through historical materialist analyses which take full account of their specific historical development. The book links the imperative of economic growth for both elite legitimacy and relative national power to the dependence on ever-increasing amounts of energy required for that growth, rejecting the fallacy at the core of eco-modernism. It covers the inability of the international community to act effectively with respect to the energy transition while the dynamics of great power politics play out, and identifies possible interim measures.

Great Power Politics, Elites and Energy provides a provocative alternative to both mainstream international relations and eco-modernist scholarship in its representation of the dynamics of the international system. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, politics, environmental studies, sociology, economics and public policy.