Energy security, energy diplomacy, and energy geopolitics have become an integral part of international relations and diplomacy. International relations and energy are closely interlinked, and there is a large potential for energy to affect such issues as global political leadership; regional conflict potential; global and regional economic development and economic integration. There are two ways to look at the role of energy markets: geopolitical and geo-economics. Energy issues are relevant not only from the IR theory perspective, but also on a practical level of regional dynamics – especially in the Asian region, which is gaining an increasingly strong role both (geo)politically, but also as the fastest growing consumer of energy resources.
Historically, Asian countries have perceived energy issues as fundamental for their respective national securities. With the increased shares of imported fuels in the energy mix, energy security considerations have influenced and will continue to have an impact on their foreign policies and diplomacy. Within the course, the issue of energy security is put into the framework of international/regional/national security instead of a more narrow interpretation in terms of security of supply of energy carriers.
The course will aim at analyzing the specifics of energy security considerations in the context of Asian regional relations and regional security. The course will take up dual geopolitical and geo-economic approach and look into what factors have a stronger impact on regional energy security dynamics.