EU-Russia Energy Relations and Sanctions

This thesis asks the question whether dependence on fossil fuels from Russia for domestic energy supply influenced the support for sanctions against Russia of EU member states following the Russian annexation of Crimea and activities in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Support for sanctions is measured using data from previous research by Silva II and Selden (2020). Using multiple regression analysis, several other explanatory factors are accounted for, including expected trade change, FDI stock and former membership of the Eastern Bloc. A small, significant, positive relation between fossil fuel dependence and support for sanctions is found. This leads to three main conclusions: First, energy dependence does not seem to negatively influence the support for sanctions against Russia by EU member states. Second, the analysis suggest a positive relation between these variables might exist. Third, the other explanatory factors accounted for each have no significant influence on support for...Show moreThis thesis asks the question whether dependence on fossil fuels from Russia for domestic energy supply influenced the support for sanctions against Russia of EU member states following the Russian annexation of Crimea and activities in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Support for sanctions is measured using data from previous research by Silva II and Selden (2020). Using multiple regression analysis, several other explanatory factors are accounted for, including expected trade change, FDI stock and former membership of the Eastern Bloc. A small, significant, positive relation between fossil fuel dependence and support for sanctions is found. This leads to three main conclusions: First, energy dependence does not seem to negatively influence the support for sanctions against Russia by EU member states. Second, the analysis suggest a positive relation between these variables might exist. Third, the other explanatory factors accounted for each have no significant influence on support for sanctions. In this time when the EU-Russia energy relations are being reconsidered, this sheds an important light on the debate on energy security and interdependence theory in EU-Russia context.Show less

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EU-Russia Energy Relations and Sanctions