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Course structure, requirements; Introduction
Mgr. Martin Jirušek, Ph.D.
Course aim
▪ To acquaint students with the situation in energy sectors of countries in Central and Eastern
Europe (CEE)
- Focus on natural gas, oil and nuclear energy
▪ To analyse relations between states in the region and Russia
▪ To explain the nexus between energy and foreign policy
▪ To analyse influencing factors af all of the above
▪ To explore contemporary issues beyond the usual clichés
Course evaluation
▪ Position papers
▪ Mid-term test
▪ Exam
▪ In-class activity is expected and strongly encouraged
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Position papers
▪ 4 standard pages (7200 char. +/- 10%), excl. sources
▪ Structure
▪ essay/critique
▪ summary (0,5 page max.)
▪ additional source (not included in the course literature)
▪ 2 discussion contributions/questions
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Mid-term test
▪ 2.5.
▪ throughout the day
▪ can be opened only once
▪ 15 minutes
▪ 7 out of 10 to pass
▪ lessons 1-8
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Introduction
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Energy security – a definition
▪ The continuous availability of energy in varied forms, in sufficient quantities, and at
reasonable prices
- Stability, sufficiency, affordability
- What it means in CEE?
- Supply sources?
- Routes?
- Technologies?
- Policies?
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Situation report – CEE, SEE
▪ High dependency on Russian sources, original infrastructure & technology
- Path dependency & structural dependency
▪ Specific historical background
▪ Strong intertwinning of policies & politics
▪ Mutual accusations of misusing energy supplies for political purposes
- Gas supply crises
- Nuclear construction deals
- Supply curtailments
- „Suspicious“ timing
- Conditionality
- Breaching of market rules
- Regional differences at the same time
- Political differences (discourse, content, topics, goals,…)
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Situation report – CEE, SEE
▪ Geography
▪ littoral states
▪ landlocked states
▪ History
▪ integral parts of the former USSR
▪ integral parts of former states
▪ (former) important transit states
▪ Economy
▪ industrialized
▪ varying structure, import dependency
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Situation report – natural gas
▪ Sparser infrastructure compared to WE
- stark regional differences
▪ Potential for new transit infrastructure (CEE, SEE)
- South Stream, Turk(ish) Stream, Nabucco, EastMed, Tesla, TAP, IAP, (NordStream)...
▪ Potential for gas sector development (SEE)
▪ Incentives?
▪ Policies?
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Situation report
▪ Clash of principles/paradigms (EU vs. Russia)
- state-centered vs. market-oriented
▪ Clash of policies and reality (EU vs. CEE/SEE)
▪ Russian opposition towards integration in CEE & SEE
▪ Changing environment
- infrastructure, policies, regulation,…
- Rising geopolitical tensions
- Past 15 years as a seminal shift comp. to 1990s
- conflict in Ukraine, rising E-W tensions, politicization of supplies and contracts, …
- compare to the Cold War era (!)
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Situation report: CE vs EE, SEE
▪ Despite sharing basic systemic traits, internal coherence of the ‘post-communist bloc’ is low
▪ CE vs EE, SEE
▪ CE states have profited from the proximity of WE
▪ Transit (energy, goods, people)
▪ Trade Exchange
▪ Proximity as a factor for incorporating WE values (and vice-versa)?
▪ Stronger institutional foundations
▪ Fewer conflicting cleavages
▪ …
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Situation report: CE vs EE, SEE
▪ Differences also in the Russian/Soviet perspective
▪ CE – states that maintained formal sovereignty
▪ EE - (+the Baltics) – incorporated as a part of the USSR
▪ Specific relations (Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania,…)
▪ Ramifications also for the energy sector
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Situation report: Russia´s perspective
▪ After the CW, views from the USSR/Russia differentiated vis-a-vis respective regions
▪ The notion of „near borderlands“
▪ CE – withdrawal; reservations towards integrational tendencies
▪ CE as a neutral, ‘bumper region’
▪ ‘no’ to NATO enlargement
▪ The Baltics – initial resistence to the secession
▪ oil supply cuts as a tool
▪ Persisting issue of minorities (heritage of the past)
▪ EE – maintaining the influence
▪ Belarus, Ukraine – revisionist tendencies (with or without the countries´ representatives´ consent)
▪ SEE – initial withdrawal; subsequent indirect involvement; broader geopolitical strategy
▪ Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania as dissenting members of the communist bloc in the past
▪ Nuanced/transactional/fluid relations
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Situation report: CE vs EE, SEE
▪ Changeable/transactional ties
▪ Platforms may differ at times, may be formal or proclaimed only
▪ Culture
▪ Church
▪ Opportunistic aliances (GRE+RUS, SRB+RUS)
▪ SEE as a geopolitical intersection
▪ RUS
▪ TUR
▪ CHN
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Situation report: new cleavages
▪ Russia´s position regarding liberalization and decarbonisation
▪ European Green Deal
▪ Infrastructural shifts
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jirusek.martin@mail.muni.cz
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