European Energy Security and US-Russian Competition

<p>This book argues that the influence of US-Russian 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.</p><p>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-Russian 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-Russian 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.</p><p>The book will be of interest to students and researchers in geopolitics international relations energy politics regional studies and European studies.</p>