Politics of Energy Dependency
Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania Between Domestic Oligarchs and Russian Pressure
Published on 23. July 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-4875-2022-9 (ISBN)
Description
Energy has been an important element in Moscow's quest to exert power and influence in its surrounding areas both before and after the collapse of the USSR. With their political independence in 1991, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania also became, virtually overnight, separate energy-poor entities heavily dependent on Russia. This increasingly costly dependency - and elites' scrambling over associated profits - came to crucially affect not only relations with Russia, but the very nature of post-independence state building.
The Politics of Energy Dependency explores why these states were unable to move towards energy diversification. Through extensive field research using previously untapped local-language sources, Margarita M. Balmaceda reveals a complex picture of local elites dealing with the complications of energy dependency and, in the process, affecting the energy security of Europe as a whole.
A must-read for anyone interested in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the politics of natural resources, this book reveals the insights gained by looking at post-Soviet development and international relations issues not only from a Moscow-centered perspective, but from that of individual actors in other states.
The Politics of Energy Dependency explores why these states were unable to move towards energy diversification. Through extensive field research using previously untapped local-language sources, Margarita M. Balmaceda reveals a complex picture of local elites dealing with the complications of energy dependency and, in the process, affecting the energy security of Europe as a whole.
A must-read for anyone interested in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the politics of natural resources, this book reveals the insights gained by looking at post-Soviet development and international relations issues not only from a Moscow-centered perspective, but from that of individual actors in other states.
Reviews / Votes
'Balmaceda's book is the most informative monograph available on all the various aspects of "the energy sector" in Ukraine, as well as in Belarus and Lithuania.... The book surely deserves a wider reading than those attracted by its main title.' - Hans Oversloot (East European Politics vol 30:02:2014) 'The Politics of Energy Dependency is a ground breaking empirical study. It raises crucial questions that anyone interested in energy studies of ex-soviet countries and Russia ought to consider.' - Keneshbek Abdirakhmanov (The Journal of Slavic Military Studies vol 27:03:2014) 'This study is a strong balance of theoretical framing and empirical richness... This book has new information and valuable insights in it for a wide range of readers.' - William M. Reisinger (Slavic Review vol 73:03:2014) "The definitive account of Russia's energy trade with its western neighbours ... Summing Up: Essential." - P.Rutland (Choice Magazine, vol 51:10:2014) "A tour de force analysis ... rich in data and clear in exposition, with more than sufficient detail to educate specialists and to interest generalists concerned with European and world affairs." - Walter C. Clemens, Jr. (Journal of Baltic Studies) 'Outstanding volume... This book is invaluable as a successful example of how to unpack the black box of the highly sensitive issue of energy dependency.'- Samuele Dominioni (Europe-Asia Studies vol 67:03:2015) "The Politics of Energy Dependency gives a well-argued account of how public policy in the former Soviet space, and energy policy more specifically, can be improved to benefit the population in the long term."
- Dr. Clifford J. Cunningham, University of Southern Queensland (JAHH)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
700 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-2022-9 (9781487520229)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Margarita M. Balmaceda is professor of Diplomacy and
International Relations at Seton Hall University, and a research associate at the Davis
Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard
University.
International Relations at Seton Hall University, and a research associate at the Davis
Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard
University.
Content
Acknowledgments
Note on Sources and Transliteration
Abbreviations
Part I: Larger Influencing Factors
1. Introduction: Domestic Politics and the Management of Energy Dependency in the Former Soviet Union
2. The Legacy of the Common Soviet Energy Past: Path Dependencies and Energy Networks
3. Domestic Contradictions, Foreign Energy, Policy Levers, and Trans-Border Rent-Seeking: The Domestic Russian Background to the Role of Energy in Relations with Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania
Part II: Case Studies
4. Ukraine: Energy Dependency and the Rise of the Ukrainian Oligarchs
5. Belarus: Turning Dependency into Power?
6. Lithuania: Energy Policy Between Domestic Interests, Russia, and the EU
Part: III: Conclusions
7. Conclusion: Managing Dependency, Managing Interests
Appendix:
Chronologies of Main Energy Events for Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine
[Maps]
Bibliography
Note on Sources and Transliteration
Abbreviations
Part I: Larger Influencing Factors
1. Introduction: Domestic Politics and the Management of Energy Dependency in the Former Soviet Union
2. The Legacy of the Common Soviet Energy Past: Path Dependencies and Energy Networks
3. Domestic Contradictions, Foreign Energy, Policy Levers, and Trans-Border Rent-Seeking: The Domestic Russian Background to the Role of Energy in Relations with Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania
Part II: Case Studies
4. Ukraine: Energy Dependency and the Rise of the Ukrainian Oligarchs
5. Belarus: Turning Dependency into Power?
6. Lithuania: Energy Policy Between Domestic Interests, Russia, and the EU
Part: III: Conclusions
7. Conclusion: Managing Dependency, Managing Interests
Appendix:
Chronologies of Main Energy Events for Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine
[Maps]
Bibliography