ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a general introduction to external energy security in the European Union, presents the research design of the analysis conducted within the book and identifies its main aims. The book’s research question asks which factors influence small EU member states’ support for or opposition to integration in the external energy security area. The chapter places the book into a broader framework of existing research on EU energy policy and outlines the theoretical approach used for analysing the preferences of small EU member states in this policy area, based on the assumption that perception can help us explain those preferences. The chapter also provides a brief overview of the case selection and presents the structure of the rest of the book.
