Allison in Austral Africa: The organizational process of oil security

Abstract

This paper aims to uncover and examine some of the strategies used by states to secure their oil needs by opening the black box of government and considering how these needs are built and constructed within an organisational process. To explore oil security strategies used by states, the paper employs the case study of South Africa's liquid fuel policy from 2007 until 2022, studied through documentary research and qualitative analysis. The analysis aims to consider the impact of private & public enterprises, political organisations and government departments on the framing of the issue and the fault lines regarding energy security. Through a SWOT analysis of South Africa's liquid fuel policy, it uncovers that there is a continued influence and presence of an informal industrial, mining and energy elite in South Africa built around the issue of the place of coal and renewable energy in the country. Illustrating the role of development as a security issue, South Africa questions the function and use of energy as a factor for labour control as it exemplifies the triple role of energy as a 'carrot', a 'stick' and an element which determines the structure of the labour market. This case study exemplifies the challenges ahead regarding the construction of energy security discourse to fight climate change...