Rising tensions and new cooperation tendencies in the Eastern Mediterranean area are highlighted by energy politics. Latest natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea have prompted...Show moreRising tensions and new cooperation tendencies in the Eastern Mediterranean area are highlighted by energy politics. Latest natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea have prompted many to wonder whether natural resources might help the area to reach peace and prosperity. However, the recent tensions and navy confrontations reveal that competition extends beyond the race for energy. By focusing on the 2018 energy dispute between the Republic of Cyprus (in alliance with Greece) and Turkey, this thesis paper examines the fluctuations of geopolitical strategies in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as their influence on regional cooperation and the new foreign relations realities between the competing regional powers. What impact do regional and international powers' actions and policies have on regional security? Does the discovery of energy resources lead to closer cooperation or increased competition? This thesis paper looks beyond the economic importance of energy resources and analyses the energy problem in the Mediterranean Sea as primarily a geopolitical and strategic one, with economics playing a secondary role.Show less
Going beyond the Eurocentric perspective that is predominant in the discipline of International Relations (IR), this thesis demonstrates the valuable insights that can be gathered by starting an...Show moreGoing beyond the Eurocentric perspective that is predominant in the discipline of International Relations (IR), this thesis demonstrates the valuable insights that can be gathered by starting an analysis of an internationally relevant topic such as energy security from the viewpoint of commonly marginalised actors. The term ‘marginalised’ refers to actors geographically located in the ‘Global South’ (in this case North Africa) and previously analytically marginalised actors within IR, such as non-state actors. Moreover, this paper provides an informed response to the allegedly neocolonial character of the controversial Desertec project, a transnational energy partnership between the European Union and Middle Eastern and North African states. To be able to do so, the paper adopts an African (Moroccan) agency perspective based on the analytical framework provided by William Brown and a number of selected determinants of agency such as political bargaining power, image management or popular resistance. The paper finds that in its original form, that is, as Desertec was envisioned by its founding father Gerhard Trieb, the Desertec project cannot be described as a European neocolonial project. Yet, in its attempted realisation, Desertec – both the original large-scale project and the following individual projects – certainly had hegemonic features. Its hegemonic character, however, did not exclude and was even partly based upon African actors’ agency. Thus, while European actors still seem to determine the type of international relations held with African countries, North African state and non-state actors demonstrated significant, yet highly uneven agency in the Desertec context, thereby disproving generally held prejudices about African states’ passivity and inferiority in the international system.Show less
China is increasingly reliant on imports for its energy security. Within recent years China and Russia have cooperated increasingly with each other in the field of energy. This study aims to...Show moreChina is increasingly reliant on imports for its energy security. Within recent years China and Russia have cooperated increasingly with each other in the field of energy. This study aims to identify the role of Russia within Chinese energy security and how this has progressed, since China became increasingly dependable on energy imports. Building on energy security literature, this thesis asks: How has Russia’s role as energy supplier changed within Chinese energy security since the rapprochement in 1990? Within this context Energy security is used in the classical definition of the “availability of sufficient supplies at affordable prices”. Based on an alternative of the four A’s Model, this thesis makes use of the ‘Availability’, ‘Accessibility’ and the ‘Affordability’ in order to research Chinese energy security and the Russian role of this within it. Analysis have proven that the role of Russia has improved greatly over time. The results also indicate that Russia is having an increasingly larger role with Chinese energy policy, but China refrains from making itself dependable by a successful diversification strategyShow less
Historically, Libya has played a crucial part in Italian foreign policy inside the Middle East- and North-African (MENA) region. Serving as the prime supplier of fossil fuels, Libya has also long...Show moreHistorically, Libya has played a crucial part in Italian foreign policy inside the Middle East- and North-African (MENA) region. Serving as the prime supplier of fossil fuels, Libya has also long functioned as a transit point for migrants taking the route toward the European continent. To safeguard both energy security and irregular migratory flows, Italy has invested in creating a mutually beneficial relationship with Libyan leader Moammar al-Ghaddafi. The 2011 Arab Spring would trouble these bonds, as Ghaddafi's reign was challenged - and ultimately toppled. Italian foreign policy-making has been described as notoriously self-contradicting, inefficient and serving self-interest at best. To test these theories, the events and resulting Italian foreign policy during the Libyan Revolution in 2011 serve as a case study. It will be shown that Italian foreign policy produced some tangible short-term results, especially in terms of energy security. Nonetheless, the processes that preceded these results were characterized by periods of uncertainty in Italian foreign policy making. Indeed, several actions of the Italian government proved to acknowledge the 'propensity for self-contradiction' that has long characterized Italian foreign policy-making in International Relations theory.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is to answer the question ‘to what extent can the EU act geopolitically in the context of energy security and should it?’ through the case study of the Southern Gas...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to answer the question ‘to what extent can the EU act geopolitically in the context of energy security and should it?’ through the case study of the Southern Gas Corridor. The academic debate on the EU’s actorness in international politics has been ongoing and the unique structure of the EU seems to still puzzle scholars. This has especially been the case in the field of energy policy, as energy is a strategic and public good and thus subject to a geopolitical dimension. By analyzing previous research in the field of EU energy policy, four possible answers to the research question were found. These are that the EU can or cannot and that the EU should or should not act geopolitically in the context of energy security. The four answers make up the spine of this thesis and guides the research into finding that the EU can act geopolitically to a certain extent, but still lacks full-fletched policy tools due to the nature of the energy policy area, and should act geopolitically to advance its strategic energy security agenda. The EU is essentially no less geopolitical than other actors but attempts to hide this within its rule-based regulatory framework.Show less
The European Union has identified a lack of energy supply security. In terms of importing natural gas, the EU is highly dependent on Russia, an energy partner deemed as unreliable by the EU due to...Show moreThe European Union has identified a lack of energy supply security. In terms of importing natural gas, the EU is highly dependent on Russia, an energy partner deemed as unreliable by the EU due to multiple reasons. Therefore, the EU has stated the objective of improving its energy security, most notably through diversification of energy supply. As a solution, the EU is looking at Turkey as an energy transit partner to reduce dependency on Russia. But is Turkey a viable solution to the EU’s objective of gaining energy security through diversification of energy supply? The literature has yet to pay sufficient attention to the basis political principles which have to be met by the EU’s new energy partner. This thesis uses securitization theory and a discourse analysis focused on ‘frames’ to demonstrate that the EU acknowledges its threat related to energy security and pushes Turkey forward as their new energy partner. Consequently, this research fills the gap in the literature by predominantly focusing on political arguments related to Turkey’s (un)stability and (un)reliability to conclude that by hailing Turkey as their new energy partner, the EU risks falling into the trap of not learning lessons from the past: Turkey’s reliability might be(come) just as problematic as Russia’s.Show less
