This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy policy and security and defense policies in Estonia with respect to energy transition. After explaining the key characteristics of energy and security regimes, it examines administrative interaction and policy coherence. The interconnections pertaining to energy transitions and security are visible via three cases: the oil shale phaseout and stability of Ida-Viru County, wind power expansion and the defense radar operation, and the desynchronization of the electricity network from Russia. Russia has formed the prevalent landscape pressure on the energy regime, although other landscape pressures have been noted, for example, climate change. Administrative coordination between energy and security has often relied on informal means, which are employed for agility but lack transparency. The security implications of the expanding energy “niches,” such as solar and wind power, have been little covered, although this has clearly increased via newly emerging attention on critical materials.

This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy policy and security and defense policies in the UK, zooming in on Scotland. It explains the energy and security regimes and analyzes policy interplay. The links between hydrocarbon energy, energy transition, and security are complex, with relatively fragmented governance in place. While some instances of policy integration were found, broader policy coherence regarding security and the zero-carbon energy transition was lacking. Before 2022, coordination efforts were focused on external, global energy questions instead of domestic energy. Domestic energy security was driven by market-based values. Post-2022, security and energy transition links pertaining to domestic energy production and use became more important in political and policy agendas. Scotland has had a differing worldview on security in relation to energy transition than the rest of the UK, with more focus on the environmental and health security effects of energy policy choices and just transitions, evident, for instance, in its opposition to nuclear power.

This chapter describes the conceptual and analytical premises used in the book’s country case studies. It uses the transition studies’ multilevel perspective as a starting point to begin exploring the diverse ways in which security and defense can be connected to sustainability transitions. It starts by discussing the landscape concept and how it ties into security. The chapter then moves onto outlining policy coherence at the regime level and ends with conceptualizing security in the transition processes of niche expansion and regime decline.

This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy policy and security and defense policies in Norway. It explains the background of energy and security regimes and analyzes policy interplay. Prior to 2022, Norway had barely considered the energy–security nexus due to substantial domestic energy supplies. Some interconnections were, however, visible via three cases: the economic security provided by oil and gas exports, security of hydropower infrastructure, and internal tensions around wind power. Repoliticization of the Norwegian energy policy took place in 2022, and questions of energy sovereignty and energy security also became a part of Norway’s energy policy vocabulary. In 2022, strong degree of securitization was not evident, but, lightly framed, there have been breaks from previous energy political practices – evidenced by new support for offshore wind power and visible military protection of critical energy infrastructure.

This final chapter compares the country findings and brings together the conceptual and empirical insights presented. It also aims to answer the questions presented in the introductory chapter: What are the security implications of energy transitions? What elements of positive and negative security can be found? How should energy security and security of supply be redefined in the context of the energy transition? Is there a hidden side to policymaking in the energy–security nexus? It first discusses the interplay between energy, security, and defense policies, followed by securitization and politicization. Subsequently, focus is placed on the security implications of energy transitions, and on negative and positive security. The chapter ends by summarizing the key technological, actor-based, and institutional aspects of the country cases, perceptions of Russia as a landscape pressure, and final conclusions.

This chapter analyzes the interconnections between energy, security, and defense policies from a transition perspective in Finland. It explains the key characteristics of Finland’s energy and security regimes, and then examines administrative interaction and policy interplay. The interconnections are visible via three cases: expansion of wind power and the operation of air surveillance radars, framing of peat as a security question, and how the Finnish government addressed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Policy coherence between energy and security was limited before 2022, mainly focusing on stockpiling fuels and mitigating direct risks to the electricity network, for example, collaboration via the “Power Pool.” Geopolitical discussion pertaining to Russia was avoided in energy policy discussions. Energy policy integration into security and defense policy has occurred on a general level, for example, energy is now seen as a critical infrastructure and the energy efficiency of defense premises has been improved. Recent events show the need for improved coherence and collaboration.

This chapter explains what has been meant by energy security in different periods and research contexts. It elaborates on the history of energy security research and creates a typology of internal and external dimensions of energy security. Subsequently, the chapter describes the research on the geopolitics of energy, focusing on the geopolitics of renewable energy and the different implications envisaged to unfold from the energy transition. The chapter ends with a brief summary of the EU’s approach to energy security. The chapter, thereby, creates a research context for the empirical analyses conducted in this book.

This chapter introduces the readers to sustainability transition studies, its key concepts, and how it has been connected to security, defense, and military issues in the past. The ways in which security can play a role in transitions is connected, for example, to how niche innovations develop and expand, how sociotechnical regimes operate, and what kind of landscape pressures are perceived to influence niches and regimes. It is interlinked to the role of states in transitions, and how war and peace are connected to niche expansion. The second purpose of this chapter is to introduce security studies, including some of its key concepts. The chapter will explain what is meant by negative and positive security, reference objects, and securitization.

This chapter introduces the topic of the book, namely the interconnections between zero-carbon energy transitions and security, and why this topic is of importance. It creates a setting for the following chapters by explaining the status of the energy transition in Europe, and introducing the academic fields the book draws from: sustainability transition studies, security studies, and studies of policy coherence and integration. The chapter also describes the research methods used and a brief background to the country cases, followed by a summary of the contents of the book.