Encounters of hesitant politics and an unwavering energy transition. Media reflections in Romania

The paper examined how political hesitancy shaped the energy transition in Romania. Aiming to reveal the contribution of the media to (re)frame energy transition, we employed topic modelling to identify the core categories that marked the interplay of actors and institutions, value systems, contingent power and resources, and the underlying policy setting. Results revealed eight major categories covering institutional setting and power struggle; the wider economic context; incumbent energy fossil fuels companies – repositioning; emerging green energy actors – positioning; geopolitics; heating and energy distribution; corporate social responsibility; energy market liberalisation, and a residual category related to press verbosity. Through these results we contributed to a finely-grained identification of specific themes on Romanian energy, added insights on how hesitancy is enacted through delays, circumventing the rules, establishing non-compliance, and denials. Our approach showed that the power transmitted by various actors through the media was politically marked and incongruent to the holistic paradigm that energy transition should embrace. Aside from its empirical focus, this paper also contributes by engaging with the hesitant politics concept that provided a flawed solution that while looked counterproductive it also proved invaluable in dodging the complex and uncertain paths of energy transition. • The paper situates energy transition within the socio-political context of Romania • We employ hesitant politics concept to reflect the reluctance to change • Underlying political tensions and power dynamics frame energy transition • Themes like just transition and energy poverty are absent • Hesitancy helps to navigate energy transition in a falter way