People and communities in energy security

This book builds from a basic premise that energy security can be understood and approached in multiple different ways. In this chapter, the focus is on examining how people and communities reconfigure debates about energy security, in particular by bringing to light alternative, sometimes conflictive, understandings of both the problem and its potential solutions. Central to our approach is the concept of framing, which has been defined as, ‘the different ways of understanding or representing a social, technological or natural system and its relevant environment … this includes the ways system elements are bounded, characterized and prioritized, and meanings and normative values attached to each’ (Leach et al., 2010: xiii, emphasis in original).