European Energy Security and US-Russian Competition

Power Struggles in a Changing World
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-79633-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 248 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series

This book argues that the influence of US-Russia security competition on the energy policies of EU member states and on the development of a unified European energy security policy has been significantly underestimated. While most previous studies have focused on internal EU dynamics and the role of Russian interests, this work takes a broader perspective by examining how transatlantic rivalries have shaped European approaches to energy security.

By tracing the evolution of European energy security policy from the Cold War era through the present, the book connects shifts in policy to the changing dynamics of US-Soviet and later US-Russia energy competition. It demonstrates that, after the Soviet Union’s collapse, the United States did not initially view European reliance on Russian energy as a threat. However, as US-Russia competition intensified, Washington increasingly framed Europe’s dependence on Russian gas as a security risk and actively sought to block the expansion of Russian energy infrastructure into Europe. The book also explores how, despite the EU’s early treaties being energy-focused, energy security only became a central foreign policy concern for the Union in the mid-2000s. Ultimately, the author argues that scholars of international relations must consider both great power dynamics and intra-European factors to fully understand the development of European energy policy.

The book will be of interest to students and researchers in geopolitics, international relations, energy politics, regional studies, and European studies.

Zielgruppe

Academic

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mavromati, Ioanna

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Geopolitik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

1 European Energy Security, Great Power Competition and Neoclassical Realism

2 A Wider Perspective on US-Russian and EU-Russian Relations

3 The Case of Energy Union: the evolution of European energy (gas) security policy from 1990 to 2024

4 The Cases of South Stream and Nord Stream I Pipelines

5 The Case of the Nord Stream II Pipeline

Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Ioanna Mavromati is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Dundee. Her research focuses on US-Russia security competition, EU-Russia relations, and energy politics.