Global Energy Security Lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East

Studia Securitatis Magazine (ISSN 2821 – 5966; ISSN – L 2821 – 5966), 2023

2021 and 2022 were not easy years for Europe considering the recovery plans designed to ease the Covid 19 pandemic effects on the economy and the "enemy at the gates" momentum translated into the illegal war started by Russia in Ukraine. 24 th of February 2022, will be for the European energy sector what 9/11 was for world security. Without thinking that with the passing of the 2022-2023 winter, the energy supply problems have evaporated, how we will tackle this issue in 2023 is critical for the European continent, as it will unveil how ready we are to find alternatives to the Russian supply and combine energetic autonomy with price affordability while not forgetting about the climate goals. How viable is the collaboration with the Middle East and how quickly will they be able to supply at least part of the European gas needs?

Journal of Peace and Diplomacy

Phenomena like globalization and interdependence shape the contemporary world. The outbreak of Russia-Ukraine crisis instigated a wave of alarm amongst the global leaders due to a high risk of the war’s potential consequences on the entire world. As the crisis intensified, it started taking economic, political and energy domains under its spur. On one hand, west imposed sanctions on Russian economic and energy firms, i.e., Gazprom. Being an energy giant, Russia utilized its energy resources as a tool to respond to the western sanctions. Nord Stream I and Nord Stream II pipelines were shut down. Hence, triggering an energy crisis in states like UK, Germany, France etc. Coupled with harsh winter, hike in energy bills and food prices etc. has had both social and economic ramifications. To curb this energy security dilemma, European states have undertaken several steps including signing deals with countries like Norway, Azerbaijan and Qatar. Energy transition is yet another option at th...

2020

The energy sector has undergone major transitions from the use of wood as a dominant fuel to the adoption of coal and, more recently, oil. In the 21 century gas has grown faster than any other fossil fuel and today renewable energy is growing even faster. The changes, combined with volatile energy prices and occasional shocks, create complex scenarios for the future of the energy sector. This has numerous implications, not only for the socio-economic development of NATO’s southern neighbourhood, and Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries in particular, but also for energy security. Policymakers in the region should keep an eye on the current megatrends in the energy sector, and the short-term implications of one-off shocks like COVID-19, in order to define long-term strategies for a resilient energy sector.

A 2006 dispute between Russia and Ukraine over gas prices cast a sobering shadow over EU energy security and galvanised new European energy initiatives. Energy-related tension between Russia and Ukraine has continued since that time with periodic flare-ups. This Backgrounder highlights the importance of Ukraine to EU energy security and explains how Ukraine's complex internal energy politics and equally complex relationship with Russia affect European interests. Ukraine's soviet past has burdened its energy policy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine's economy was one of the most energy-intensive in the world with most of its energy imported from its northern neighbour, Russia, and Central Asia. At the same time, Russia used Ukraine's energy dependence to keep the newly independent state within the Russian sphere of geopolitical interest. The energy sector reforms of the 1990s were stillborn as true incentives for sector reform were overshadowed by low gas prices and rent-seeking by Ukrainian political and business elites. The 2004 Orange Revolution, which brought Viktor Yushchenko to power, boosted political and economic competition. This competition, combined with a liberalisationn of imported gas prices, created opportunities for needed reforms to the energy sector. However, FRIDE Democracy Backgrounders Democracy Backgrounders provide factual information relevant to topical international challenges related to democratisation, and analyse policy implications for the international community. About FRIDE FRIDE is an independent think-tank based in Madrid, focused on issues related to democracy and human rights; peace and security; and humanitarian action and development. FRIDE attempts to influence policy-making and inform public opinion, through its research in these areas.

Polityka Energetyczna – Energy Policy Journal, 2020

The issue of energy security was the subject of research in the 1970s when the oil crisis of 1973 significantly affected the economic stability of hundreds of companies and ordinary citizens in the United States and Western Europe. One of the first researchers of energy security was Mason Willrich who, considering the impact of energy on international politics, national security, the world economy, and the environment in the world, drew attention to the issues of "security of supply" and "security of demand" as fundamental to ensure energy security. The concept of "energy security" involves the comprehensive implementation of political, economic, environmental, technological, and social measures to strengthen the internal subjectivity of the state and limit opportunities for external influence. Subsequently, numerous researchers have expanded the understanding of energy security to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency). The presented scientific work is focused on the analysis of state management decisions for ensuring the energy security of Ukraine. The authors also trace vulnerabilities in various energy systems, including energy infrastructure, energy services, and renewable energy sources. The decline in energy demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine has created a dilemma: state support for renewable energy production (RES), which generates rising producer prices, or reduced energy intensity of GDP and stimulated production of cheap nuclear energy. A comprehensive scientific analysis of the solution to this dilemma is the purpose of the presented work.

Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 2010

TERMINAL, 2017

They say that the only place where you can feel safe in prison (except for the risk of being released). Therefore, writing about security guarantees in times of war is like pouring salt on an open wound. Isn’t it because for a quarter of a century we have failed to use to our advantage any of the developments in the area that we have found ourselves in this mess? Let’s recall those buried plans to create situational centers under the President or the government, to introduce preventive policies, strategic planning, or scenario forecasting... Meanwhile, the need to assess the security level, in particular in energy, has always been out there, although the latter is difficult to distinguish from national security. Being a part of it, energy security brings together a number of interconnected aspects that are difficult to put in a single system. But without doing so, we can’t hope for Ukraine’s sustainable development.

Central European Journal of International and Security Studies, 2023

Energy security has clear relationships with national security-historically, semantically, and practically. This exploratory study offers a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 43 academic articles focused on energy issues, published in five international security studies journals-International Security, Security Dialogue, Security Studies, Contemporary Security Policy and Survival-from 2001 to 2020. The study identifies the main energy themes covered in the articles and the authors' demographics. The paper concludes that the coverage of energy issues has been quite sporadic and largely underexplored in security studies. The essence of the debates over energy issues has not changed much since the energy crises of the 1970s-it remains predominately state-and Western-centric with a primary focus on oil and nuclear power. The crude oil price surge because of supply disruptions from the Middle East is still viewed as a main threat to energy security. Similarly, international armed conflicts, domestic instability and nuclear proliferation are prioritised among the most critical outcomes of energy insecurity. The primary public policy responses to threats to energy security still focus on foreign policy, diversification of suppliers and energy sources, domestic energy efficiency and strategic energy stockpiles.

International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR), 2025

This work evaluates a Ukraine Russia conflict of being a threat to global energy security and evaluate how it may potentially lead to third world war. The impact of the war is elaborated concerning disruptions in the energy supply, especially in Europ, where the reliance on Russian oil and gas has been reported as the major weakness. In view of understanding the role of energy resources within the framework of international relations, it is necessary to pointing out the role of the conflict in restructuring the energy market in the enhancement of geopolitical tensions, and further popularizing the issue of energy diversification. Furthermore, the paper assesses the current role of NATO, the EU, and other world actors in relation to the war, and analyzes the possibility of the war turning into a world military conflict. The study provides a detailed review of the possible steps toward de-escalation, individual actors‘ rationality and interests and the stakes of global security, energy resource, and diplomacy for the continuation of instability by specifying the impacts on global peace and security.