Beyond the energy policies : conceptualising the nexus between energy security and international relations security studies

Abstract

This study is an attempt to examine the nexus between energy security and International Relations security studies. The purposes of the thesis are, on one hand, elaborating the conversation concerning political aspects of energy security on international level, and on the other, bringing more theoretical depth to contemporary political analysis of energy affairs.

One of the main issues of the study is to define the internal logics of the term energy security. This is achieved through the analysis of several factors in energy policies. The core data of the study are six energy initiatives of the European Union. Through reading of energy security argumentation, the thesis examines the nature of energy security claims and gives disciplinary meaning for the argumentation. By using four defining factors as an analytical tool, the nature of energy security argumentation is thus clarified.

Simultaneously, the thesis concentrates on conceptualizing the relationship between energy security and International Relations security studies. This connection is researched through the process of policy analysis combined with theoretical reading of findings. It means that the research nexus is analysed from both perspectives – from the perspective of energy security and the perspective of the discipline. Therefore, this study used energy security as the defining concept of IR security studies.

The thesis argues that energy security is a very flexible concept from the point of view of IR cecurity studies. According to the findings, energy security is vulnerable for securitisation acts. This means that energy security argument is particularly easily used to meet the needed criteria. In addition, the theoretical framework of IR security studies shows that energy security can be seen to have characters of many different IR security study theories. Hence, energy can be argued to be a usable concept from the perspective of these theories. Energy clearly has potential to be included in many discussions of security in International Relations.