Russian Energy Strategy in the European Union, the Former Soviet Union Region, and China
By (author) Stylianos A. Sotiriou
Publication date:
11 December 2014Length of book:
288 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9781498502313
This book places Eurasia in its entirety within a single explanatory framework and examines, for the first time to that extent, Russia as a Eurasian energy power in its affairs with the two main geopolitical players of the region, the EU and China. Part of this geopolitical space is the Former Soviet Union (FSU) region which shares deep historical-political ties with Russia and constitutes the necessary crossing for the latter’s natural gas supplies en route to the EU market.In this way, an energy triangle is established, with Russia at the top angle, the EU in the left angle, China in the right angle and the FSU region the median.Following the scheme, three bipolar relationships emerge, Russia-FSU region, Russia-EU and Russia-China, with each of them representing a different type of bilateral cooperation. In the first case there is an asymmetric relationship with one actor being overly powerful, in terms of energy, to impose its conditions, economic and political, on the other. In the second case there is a symmetric relationship with both actors having equal means of pressure at their disposal. Finally, in the third case there is balanced relationship with both actors trading on an equal basis. Within this framework, one of the dominant theoretical debates in the field of International Relations, that between Neorealism and Neoliberal Institutionalism (the so-called ‘Neo-Neo’ debate) seeks to shed light on the governing rationale beyond Putin’s Russia foreign energy policy vis-à-vis the FSU region, the EU and China.
In this timely book on Russian energy strategy, Sotiriou outlines the approach taken to former Soviet states Ukraine and Belarus, the EU, and China. Theoretically, he analyzes Russia’s three-pronged strategy from the perspective of neorealism, neoliberal institutionalism, and a hybrid institutional balancing model. A principal source of information is the archive of Gazprom, the state-owned energy giant that provides a large share of Russian tax revenues. Sotiriou concludes that the 2010 agreement between Ukraine and Russia that cut the export duty on natural gas by 30 percent in return for a 25-year guarantee of access to the Russian naval base at Sevastopol reflected old-fashioned power politics characteristic of neorealism. The same model explains Putin’s reluctance to follow through on a customs union with Belarus that might hurt Russian economic interests. However, after the natural gas crisis of 2006, the EU pushed for an 'unbundling' of energy security from Russian supplies more characteristic of the institutional balancing model. Even though China has reached out to both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for energy supplies, the author expects that China will end up relying heavily on Russian supplies and Russia's power politics approach. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.