The New Politics of Energy Security in the European Union and Beyond ― States, Markets, Institutions

Combining theoretical reflections and empirical insights from paradigmatic case studies in the area of external energy governance (with a focus on the Caspian region and Central Asia), pipeline politics (with a focus of the Southern Gas Corridor and the Trans 2 Adriatic Pipeline), LNG development (with a focus on the Baltic countries and the Mediterranean countries), and offshore petroleum policy and politics (with a focus on the Central and Eastern Mediterranean Sea) this ground-breaking study demonstrates that, indeed, a distinctive and new politics of energy security is definitively emerging in the European Union (EU). Innovative not only in regard to the case studies presented and the issues addressed, but also in regard to the theoretical approach adopted - an International Political Economy approach informed by an historical institutional perspective - and for its larger contribution to the analysis of the states’ role in energy security governance in the context of liberalized energy markets. The book places the study of EU energy politics in the broader evolving context of global energy markets and integrates the analysis of the external and internal dimensions of energy security. Moreover, the book explores the interactions between EU and national political dynamics as well as the interactions between energy security and environmental concerns at the sub-national level. Finally, the book is original because it challenges the common view of the ’de-politicization’ of energy security supported by the mainstream market approach to energy policy as well as the power politics and ’zero-sum game’ view supported.

Andrea Prontera is Assistant Professor of International Relations and EU Institutions and Policies in the Department of Political Science, Communication and International Relations at the University of Macerata, Italy. His main research interests and publications lie in the areas of international political economy, comparative public policy and energy policy.