The Greening
of Geopolitics
The advent of renewable energies is
generally regarded from a fairly narrow perspective: whether – and to what
extent – they are able to replace fossil fuels and what this would mean for the
energy system and the economy. Such a perspective profoundly underestimates the
potential consequences of what is in fact a revolutionary global development: a
socio-political and techno-economic megatrend that has the ability to become a
global societal game-changer, writes Alexander Mirtchev, Vice-President of the
Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI).
According to Mirtchev, the ‘Alternative Energy Megatrend’ will have
far-reaching effects on global geopolitical relations and security concerns –
effects that have yet to be fully grasped by most observers. This article is
adapted from his upcoming book: “The Alternative Energy Megatrend: A Global
Security Discourse in the Universally-Securitized World”.