Securitization of Energy as a Prelude to Energy Security Dilemma
Securitization of Energy as a Prelude to Energy Security Dilemma

Summary/Abstract: The central theme of the last May’s meeting between Russian President Vladmir Putin and the EU troika (Javier Solana, Jose Manuel Barosso and Wolfgang Schussel) was, as expected, the energy security problem between Russia and European Union. The same subject was dominant in July of the same year at the G8 summit and also on the 5th of February this year when the EU troika visited Moscow. Meanwhile, even the representatives of NATO were discussing the problems of energy security at the summit held in Riga in November 2006. The problems of energy security have long ago ceased to be a subject dealt with only at economic forums; they are now deliberated at high-level political meetings between heads of state. In other words, the trade in energy supplies is no longer merely a question of economics but also become political. However, when a military-political alliance such as NATO begins to discuss the regularity and stability of energy supplies as a matter of course it can be questioned whether this, primarily economic, matter has irreversibly become a security issue. What are the consequences of such proceedings?[...]

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