Papers by Simon Langlois-Bertrand
The debates over energy security in the 1970s, having burgeoned amidst the transformation of ener... more The debates over energy security in the 1970s, having burgeoned amidst the transformation of energy markets following the oil shocks, were at the time mostly based on narrow geopolitical and economic views related to the security of a reliable and affordable supply. Since then, the meaning of energy security has evolved and come to encompass a broader range of considerations. This Contract Report is intended as a survey of the debates over energy security in their contemporary form. The discussion revolves around two interrelated themes: first, the complexity of the concept of energy security and the overlapping but at times disparate debates that occur around the concept; second, the differing policy interventions that follow from attempts to render energy more -secure.‖ The purpose of this Report is to highlight how the politics surrounding the concept of energy security in a contemporary setting influence policy intervention(s), and the implications of the policy choices therein. Given the persistent saliency of energy security in public and political debates in recent years, it is crucial to find ways for coherent discussions over comprehensive sets of policy choices to take place and help deal with this issue.
Energy Strategy Reviews, 2015
ABSTRACT
Uncertainty -the lack of ability to satisfyingly anticipate an outcome -makes decisions much hard... more Uncertainty -the lack of ability to satisfyingly anticipate an outcome -makes decisions much harder and more uncomfortable, because it hides the true value of a choice, including the risks associated with it. At least in modern liberal democracies, many people see the basic function of government as being to manage and reduce uncertainties. Consequently, they expect authorities to act to abate, temper, compensate, and if possible prevent the brutal fluctuations produced by an unpredictable social and physical world. In this article, I argue that in some contexts, uncertainty becomes a powerful resource both for groups pushing for policy change and those resisting it. To demonstrate this, I use case studies in the energy and environmental sectors, and show how uncertainty can be used in political and public debates to frame problems and solutions, to discredit and delegitimize some forms and sources of knowledge, and to justify government intervention. In other words, by 'mastering' uncertainty, groups are able to impose a vision of a public issue that is conducive to certain specific policy solutions, sometimes succeeding in changing the policy regime in place.
Social scares, defined as periods that see a triggering event produce a sudden, broadly shared pe... more Social scares, defined as periods that see a triggering event produce a sudden, broadly shared perception of insecurity in the population, sometimes -but not always -lead to major (atypical) policy change. In this article, I propose a model to analyze the dynamics and mechanisms that lead from such events to different types of policy outcomes. I describe how the context of a social scare creates two political prizes, corresponding respectively to an earlier ('acute') period following the triggering event, and to a later ('post-shock') period where policy debates occur. The main thesis is straightforward: advocacy coalitions and political actors able to make the most out of these prizes are more likely to win the battles and obtain their favored policy course of action. I apply the model to cases of social scares in the energy area in the United States, Germany, and Canada. The discussion of the cases shows how the distinction between the model's two periods can help understand why certain policy changes -or the absence thereofoccurred in their aftermath, by describing how advocacy coalitions and political leaders were able to use the period of social scare to maximize the political prizes it created.
Social scares are defined as periods that see a triggering event produce a sudden, broadly shared... more Social scares are defined as periods that see a triggering event produce a sudden, broadly shared perception of insecurity in the population. These scares create two political prizes: one consists of symbolic capital linked to leadership performance during the 'acute' phase following the triggering event; and the other corresponding to the policy outcome of the later 'post-shock' period where policy debates occur. Advocacy coalitions and political actors able to make the most out of the first prize are more likely to win the battles and obtain their favored policy course of action. In this paper, I investigate three aspects of these battles: first, the need for actors and coalitions to design strategies that balance the two objectives of winning a large political rent while also obtaining their preferred policy outcome later on; second, the role of framing attempts in these strategies, and the constrains that different scares put thereon; and third, the influence of certain key contextual factors. I use ensuing exploratory hypotheses on two Canadian cases of energy-related scares: the passage of the National Energy Program in 1980, and the North American Ice Storm in 1998.
The potential impact of mobile phones on development in Africa has been recognized for some time ... more The potential impact of mobile phones on development in Africa has been recognized for some time now. Their use is considered to be a solution to the relative lack of infrastructure in the areas of communication and transport, enabling small-sized farms and businesses to save enormous amounts on transportation costs, as well as allowing isolated parties to access price information in real-time, cutting down dramatically on transaction costs.
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Papers by Simon Langlois-Bertrand