Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate how in the last decades, in Western democracies, energy, once confined to the field of economy and technology, has become a major political issue. The article analyzes the impact of different types of energy (carbon, oil, nuclear, etc.) on democratic societies. It devotes special attention to the new cleavage provoked by the emergence of renewable energies (solar and aeolian in particular) which, together with better and more diffuse information, has given citizens the possibility to express their democratic aspirations in energetic matters. The article argues for the need to historically investigate the political discourse on energy - energy being crucial for our societies, and the tensions between industrial and environmental needs not being destined to disappear anytime soon.