Comprehending Energy Safety in China

Most research about China's energy policy rely on a rational conception of political actors thus portraying China either under the guise of a rational unitary actor on the scene of energy geopolitics or as a battleground among administrative units protecting their bureaucratic turf. This article wants to shed a different light on China's energy policy. It postulates that three different political frames -- strategic, market, & "scientific development" -- can be found within China's energy policy community. These frames provide the cognitive foundations for problem definition & policy formulation. The measures forming the country's energy policy are thus the result of debates between advocates of each frame & synthesis between them. Yet, some structural factors (economic culture, political institutions, & administrative procedures to name a few) impose a selection among those frames or limit their conversion into concrete policies. Graphs. Adapted from the source document.